Hi everyone,
The big news for us this past week was that we made USA Today’s list of 10 Great Pick-your-own Farms Across the USA! We were so excited!! Most of the other places were bigger farms right outside of large cities, so I felt that added to the honor of being chosen. I’m really still stunned about the whole thing; it was SO cool.
But enough about that, here’s what’s going on around the Orchard this week.
Blueberries and Red Raspberries – At this point, we should have them in the market every day (unless we get rained out from picking). They’re also open for u-pick every day we’re open.
Strawberries – We’re not picking any more for the market at this point. We’ll keep u-pick open at least through the weekend, then we’ll have to see. There are still some pretty good berries out there, but picking is getting slow.
Housekeeping Notes – If we have to close anything due to being picked out, I’ll get it on the website and social media asap. Otherwise, we’re open for picking every day except Mondays (since we’re never open Mondays). Picking is available during rain unless there is lightning nearby; at that point I have to get everyone out of the fields. You can always check the What’s Ripe page to see what’s going on. I try to update it as soon as I can get to a computer in the morning.
Black Raspberries – There are starting to be a handful of black raspberries out there. I’m hoping to get a few picked for the market by later today. U-pick will be opening soon.
Cherries – I picked the last of our tart cherries last night before I went home. We should have them in the market for the next couple days. We’ve got loads of sweet cherries right now, and several more varieties yet to ripen, so we’ll have sweet cherries in the market for awhile.
Peaches – Our earliest peaches will be ready by mid July or a little earlier. We have a nice crop this year.
Apples – Our first variety of apple is Lodi, ripe in probably a week or so. It’s good for cooking and sauce, but not so great for eating. Unfortunately we were having trouble with our Transparent trees, so we had to replant them. We usually have them at the same time as Lodi, but we won’t have any for a few years now. Sorry for any inconvenience.
Pressure Canning Vegetables
Thursday, July 19th, 6pm
Join us on July 19th as Melinda Hill from OSU talks about pressure canning vegetables. Whether you’re a total beginner or you want some tips and tricks or you have some questions, this class will give you some great information. Melinda’s talk will start at 6pm and last about an hour and a half. And we’re covering the speaker fee, so it’s free for all attendees! Please sign up using our online form here, so we know approximately how many people to prepare for.
Ok, that’s it for this time! I’ll be back again soon with more updates and (according to my wife) hopefully a new baby. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!
Congratulations on your honor of Top 10 u-pick farms. It is well deserved. I love all your produce!
Have picked strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. Guess I’ll have to try apples and peaches next.
Hi, I am trying to find sweet cherries to can. Do you have the non pitted cherries I will need? This will be my first year canning cherries so I’m not sure if I asked correctly
Most of our sweet cherries this year have been destroyed by the heavy rains we’ve gotten. We might have a few here and there, but we won’t have a very significant amount this year.