As you can see from the photo, the blueberries are still green. Once again it looks like a great crop coming in and now we only need mother nature to turn on the sun and heat. Last year we opened on July 12 and we’re sure it will be close to that date this year.
We have been busy in-between the rain showers fertilizing, mowing, painting and still picking up canes! This year we have two new employees pictured on the golf cart. I call them the dynamic duo because they are a brother and sister team. Liz and Ben will be with us all summer as well as the rest of the family. We look forward to seeing all of you in the next few weeks! Lets go SUN!
The bees have arrived and the weather has been partly cloudy in the 60s so they have been busy pollinating our early varieties which are in bloom. I have included two pictures of the bees. The first is one of the bumblebees which we bought from Koppert Biological and the second is of a honeybee which we rent while the field is in bloom. (If you click on the picture twice, it should enlarge it enough so you can actually see the bees.) The bumblebees are of the species Bombus impatiens and are a little smaller than the large wild bumblebees we see in our gardens. They are shipped in a cardboard box called a quad which has a total of 4 hives in each box.
We decided to use bumblebees because of their ability to buzz pollinate blueberry flowers (The actual buzzing they make when in a blueberry blossom causes the blossom to vibrate and release its’ pollen.) and because of the uncertainty of renting enough honeybee hives. Bumblebees can also tolerate cooler temperatures, more wind and even light rain as opposed to the honeybees. However, when the conditions are right, there will be significantly more honeybees in the blossoms than bumblebees. Hopefully we’ll have just the right mix to maximize pollination.
This is a picture of our friend George on the tractor working in the second field. It appears that George is camera shy but the truth is that I’m not the best photographer. However, if you look closely, you can see George’s dog Lexi peering out from underneath the tractor (the tractor was not running at this point and the dog is fine!) George and my husband are working on Mother’s Day because when they made plans to work on the farm, they forgot Sunday was Mother’s Day. That’s almost as bad as not getting your wife a birthday cake because you figure she’s had enough cake in the last month!
Seriously, it was very nice of George to give up visiting his mom in favor of fighting black flies, very large rocks and picking up blueberry canes at Berrybogg Farm. Last year he spent the day tying up bushes in the second field so customers could actually get down the rows so in his honor we will be renaming row 11 in the second field George’s Row. How’s that for immortality?
We are patiently awaiting the blossoms opening so the bees can arrive. Hopefully, we will have some success by the middle of this week. We have both honey bees and bumble bees coming this year in hopes that we have a successful pollination rate. I will post more pictures when they arrive.
Our two year old blueberry plants arrived Friday and they look great. We only ordered 100 plants, 50 Patriots and 50 Blue Rays. You need two varieties for cross pollination unless you decide to plant them near wild blueberries on your property. These varieties are both mid-season with a good cold hardiness rating. We actually grow the Blue Ray in our second field and they have proven to be an excellent large sweet fruit. Right now the plants are in 1 gallon containers but we hope to transplant them into 3 gallon pots near the end of the week. If you would like any of the plants before we transplant, we can offer them for $12.95. If you prefer to buy them at the farm this summer, we will be offering them for $15.95.
Unfortunately, it rained all weekend but that actually turned out to be a good thing as we were able to get a burn permit and burn brush (mostly canes we recently pruned). The following picture is of my husband trying to burn down the field! Ha! Actually, he’s using the tractor to compact the burn pile. All went well and we were able to get a lot done. 
Today was 80 degrees but we managed to prune for four hours. We have finally completed our first field, have one and a half rows to go in the second field and the Berkleys to quickly go through in the third field. We are hoping Mother Nature turns on the AC because the buds are starting to break open and this would be very early for blossoms. It also has not rained for 11 days so we started the irrigation in our first field and second field. The picture is everyone who helped us prune this year, including my mom who is striking a pose in front. Fun times!
The snow is finally gone (most of it at least) and we were able to get the tractor up to the fields. We have finished pruning one field and are now in our second field pruning Blue Rays and Northlands. On Saturday we burned brush and pruned Berkley in our third field. The Berkley plants are about 30 years old and have huge canes so we have to use a pruning saw to cut out the canes. I am looking forward to a rain day so my body can recover. All this outdoor work and I haven’t lost one lousy pound…what’s with that!
Variety is the spice of life and our spring weather continues to uphold this adage. Yesterday we had a mini blizzard and today it was almost 60 degrees…it was pretty cloudy and there were a few sprinkles of rain but very comfortable outdoor weather. However, as the weather warms the snow has started to soften and we often go through the top layer and sink down about 18 inches.
One of our pruners is an audubon naturalist who periodically brings our attention to the natural wonders around us. Today she pointed out a low flying Turkey Vulture which I learned is a true harbinger of spring…more so than the Robin who sometimes never leave for points south. The Turkey Vulture’s wing span was impressive as it soared above us and then headed towards the woods. We also saw two Ravens and we could hear a Phoebe singing in the trees. As we walked down to lunch, we discovered fresh tracks from a Turkey and right next to the Turkey’s prints were those of an Otter (we think). All in all, it was a productive and interesting day in the blueberry fields!
As you can see from the photo, the blueberries are still green. Once again it looks like a great crop coming in and now we only need mother nature to turn on the sun and heat. Last year we opened on July 12 and we’re sure it will be close to that date this year.
We have been busy in-between the rain showers fertilizing, mowing, painting and still picking up canes! This year we have two new employees pictured on the golf cart. I call them the dynamic duo because they are a brother and sister team. Liz and Ben will be with us all summer as well as the rest of the family. We look forward to seeing all of you in the next few weeks! Lets go SUN!
