Home again, It is pickle season.

We have all sorts of good food at the stand today. A few highlights are Dads delicious blueberries, lots of cucumbers and little pickles, beans, beets, tomatoes cabbage and all sorts of greens, lettuce and herbs.

We have a few boxes of canner tomatoes today and lots of cucumbers including little picklers available in bulk amounts.
We are home again to this wonderful green land. We traveled as a family out to the west and spent three weeks camping. We spent our time just seeing our big diverse country. The grass is a lot greener here than in Wyoming. It is good to be back on the farm and to eat good fresh produce. Daniel

Raspberries, summertime crops and travel plans

It is summertime and the stand is full of all the normal things that one would expect for the time of the year such as lettuce, cabbage, scallions, broccoli, cucumbers, zucchini and much more. There are still quite a few strawberries out there. The patch is in half price gleaning status for all of this week. We still have plenty of picked berries at the stand for today. The red raspberries are ripe. Black raspberries should start next week. If you wish to u-pick call or stop in and make an appointment just as we have been doing in past years. There are still open spots for u-pick raspberries for today and the rest of this week. If there are berries left after the scheduled pickers pick any one that comes will be allowed to pick. U-pick raspberry prices is $3.75 per lb. I along with my wife and children are planning to travel out west for a few weeks in July and spend some time exploring and camping in the Wyoming, Montana, Idaho region. I have never been out west and we are all excited. This is also a first for us in many years to be able to get away from the farm in the summer. I have a team of good people that I have been preparing to take over while I am gone. Stop in and get the good food that Matthew, Josephine, and Judy will have at the stand while we are gone. Daniel

U-pick Saturday June 26 Still abundant berries

We will open the strawberry and pea patches for u-pick in the morning (Saturday, June 26) at 7 am. This is the last formal u-pick day for this year. I just came in from walking through the fields. There are a lot more berries out there than I expected and some of them are bigger than I was expecting to see. They liked the cooler weather and sized up nicely. I am estimating that if we have enough pickers we can harvest 1,500 quarts tomorrow. The late berries are so very good. I ate my fill as I was scouting the fields. Some of those little gems are almost like candy.
The patch in the front behind the barn and the little patches out past post two are in half price gleaning status. Those patches are almost finished.
The patches at the top of the hill after post 1 and the big one way back past post three still have better picking and are open for picking at regular price.
Starting Monday June 28 all the strawberry patches will in self service, half price gleaning status. Come to the stand after you are finished for check out. There are still some green berries that will be ripening over the next week. Any patches in gleaning status are open every day except Sunday during normal stand hours.

Strawberry and peas- Open Wed (June 23) for u-pick

We will open the strawberry and pea patches for u-pick tomorrow Wednesday June 23) at 2 pm. This is the late part of strawberry season. There are still quite a lot of ripe berries. The late berries are so good. The patch in the front behind the barn and the little patches out past post two are going to be in half price gleaning status starting at 2 pm tomorrow afternoon. There are a lot of berries there but they are tiny and the picking in those patches fills containers slowly. Any patches in gleaning status are open any time the stand is open. The patches at the top of the hill after post 1 and the big one way back past post three still have better picking and will be open Wednesday and Saturday at regular price.

Hours for u-pick are Monday starting
at 7 AM; Wednesday, start 2 PM (no morning picking on Wednesdays); Saturday, start 7 AM. This repeats through out the whole season. The patch closes when the berries are all picked or at 6 PM. Daniel

U-pick on Monday June 21- lots of strawberries available

We will open the Strawberry patches for u-pick on Monday June 21 starting at 7 AM. This is the late part of the peak season- there are lots of berries that need picked tomorrow. The big patch way in the back has especially good picking now. This is the second week of the season and the average berry size is dropping (this is normal) There are still some green berries left so I judge we will be picking on u-pick days for another 7-10 days. At that point of the season the patch goes into half price gleaning status for as long as there are small berries left.

Hours for u-pick are Monday starting
at 7 AM; Wednesday, start 2 PM (no morning picking on Wednesdays); Saturday, start 7 AM. This repeats through out the whole season. The patch closes when the berries are all picked or at 6 PM. Daniel

U-pick Saturday June 19- lots of berries to pick

We will open the Strawberry patches for u-pick on Saturday June 19 starting at 7 AM. This is the late part of the peak season- there are thousands of quarts of berries that need picked tomorrow and I do not expect the patch to be finished picked till later in the day. Come and help with this harvest, we need you and it is fun to pick them and to eat them. This is the second week of the season and the average berry size is dropping (this is normal) There are still some green berries left so I judge we will be picking some berries into the last week of June. Now is the time though for the best picking.

Hours for u-pick are Monday starting
at 7 AM; Wednesday, start 2 PM (no morning picking on Wednesdays); Saturday, start 7 AM. This repeats through out the whole season. The patch closes when the berries are all picked or at 6 PM.
When you arrive you do not need to stop at the stand to weigh your containers if you know the empty weight already. Also you do not need to stop if you are picking into standard Quart or gallon containers.
You have the option of bringing your own containers or buy empties from us.(Quart boxes 25 cents each or $20 per hundred. Gallon buckets $3 each.)
We will be using the same random picking pattern that we did last year. This means that you may start anyplace you wish in the patches that are open as long as you are not cutting in front of someone. It is mandatory that when you are picking that all the ripe berries are picked as you move ( No roaming or grazing type picking. A section of row must either be picked or not picked when you leave. We keep scouting the patch and suggesting where you will find good picking. Daniel

U-pick today- peak of season, Come and get them!

We will be open for u-pick this afternoon (Wed June 16) starting at 2 PM. This will be the peak picking for this year. Picking conditions are very good with thousands of quarts of berries to pick today. There are so many ripe berries that we will not be picked out quickly even if there is a large turnout. Come and get them! The sugar snap and shell peas are ready also ( this is exceptionally early) and there are a few bushels of early cauliflower and broccoli at the stand today along with some of the earliest of the new potatoes. Greenhouse cucumbers and tomatoes are becoming abundant- chard, spinach, beet greens and more, the stand is full of good food. Come and get it!

Hours for u-pick are Wednesday, start 2 PM (no morning picking on Wednesdays); Saturday, start 7 AM and Monday starting at 7 am. This repeats through out the whole season. The patch closes when the berries are all picked or at 6 PM.
When you arrive you do not need to stop at the stand to weigh your containers if you know the empty weight already. Also you do not need to stop if you are picking into standard Quart or gallon containers.
You have the option of bringing your own containers or buy empties from us.(Quart boxes 25 cents each or $20 per hundred. Gallon buckets $3 each.)
We will be using the same random picking pattern that we did last year. This means that you may start anyplace you wish in the patches that are open as long as you are not cutting in front of someone. It is mandatory that when you are picking that all the ripe berries are picked as you move ( No roaming or grazing type picking. A section of row must either be picked or not picked when you leave. We keep scouting the patch and suggesting where you will find good picking. Daniel

This is the peak of strawberry season

The next pickings are Monday June 14 starting at 7 AM and Wednesday starting 2 PM I just came in from scouting the fields and there are lots of ripe berries. Picking conditions will be very good. There are so many ripe berries to pick that I do not foresee that they will be all picked till later in the day (but one never knows). We are open rain or shine. ( We do need the rain very much)

The strawberries are ripening in a much more concentrated pattern then is common with a large portion of the berries looking like they will be ripe in the next week. The season of course will continue after that (there are still green berries) but this is not a year to procrastinate. Size and quantity will drop off quickly this year. It looks to me like we are in for an extremely intense and short season. Get your berries sooner rather than later.

Hours for u-pick are Monday starting
at 7 AM; Wednesday, start 2 PM (no morning picking on Wednesdays); Saturday, start 7 AM. This repeats through out the whole season. The patch closes when the berries are all picked or at 6 PM.
When you arrive you do not need to stop at the stand to weigh your containers if you know the empty weight already. Also you do not need to stop if you are picking into standard Quart or gallon containers.
You have the option of bringing your own containers or buy empties from us.(Quart boxes 25 cents each or $20 per hundred. Gallon buckets $3 each.)
We will be using the same random picking pattern that we did last year. This means that you may start anyplace you wish in the patches that are open as long as you are not cutting in front of someone. It is mandatory that when you are picking that all the ripe berries are picked as you move ( No roaming or grazing type picking. A section of row must either be picked or not picked when you leave. We keep scouting the patch and suggesting where you will find good picking. Daniel

Strawberries Galore! Next picking Saturday June 12

Strawberries Galore! Next picking Saturday June 12 starting at 7 AM. I just came in from scouting the fields and there are an enormous amount of ripening berries. Picking conditions will be very good. There are so many ripe berries to pick that I do not foresee that they will be all picked till late in the day (but one never knows). This is the early part of the peak season. They are ripening in a much more concentrated pattern than I am used to seeing with an estimated half of the berries out there showing color. It takes about a week from first color on a particular berry till it is ready for harvest. I judge that the peak of the season will be over the next seven days. The season of course will continue after that but this is not a year to procrastinate. It looks to me like we are in for an extremely intense and short season. Get your berries sooner rather than later.

Hours for u-pick are Monday starting
at 7 AM; Wednesday, start 2 PM (no morning picking on Wednesdays); Saturday, start 7 AM. This repeats through out the whole season. The patch closes when the berries are all picked or at 6 PM.
When you arrive you do not need to stop at the stand to weigh your containers if you know the empty weight already. Also you do not need to stop if you are picking into standard Quart or gallon containers.
You have the option of bringing your own containers or buy empties from us.(Quart boxes 25 cents each or $20 per hundred. Gallon buckets $3 each.)
We will do our best to spread groups apart in the field. I expect family/friend groups to stay together as much as is reasonable to allow for social distancing where it matters. NO DOGS in the field or stand areas. We will be using the same random picking pattern that we did last year. This means that you may start anyplace you wish in the patches that are open as long as you are not cutting in front of someone. It is mandatory that when you are picking that all the ripe berries are picked as you move ( No roaming or grazing type picking. A section of row must either be picked or not picked when you leave. We will be scouting the patch and kept suggesting where you will find good picking.
Pricing (u-pick) $4 per Quart if less than 8 quarts and $3.25 per quart if more than 8 quarts; $26 for 8 quart tray and $12.50 for 4 liquid quart buckets, water pitchers, bowls and other similar sized containers. All containers are expected to well filled but not heaped. We will adjust prices up or down as needed for over or under-filled containers. By the pound price is $2.20/# (limited to bigger containers or larger amounts); By using volume rather than weight when it makes sense we can bypass the stand for most of the berries and reduce congestion. Daniel

Strawberry season is now! Lots of picked berries today- u-pick tomorrow.

The strawberries are ripening much more quickly than I expected. We are opening for u-pick for the first picking of the season tomorrow afternoon (June 9,2021) starting at 2 pm. (No morning picking on Wednesday) There are many ripe berries out there- way more than would be expected for the first picking. This is an unusually early and quick start during a year that is unusual in many ways. Peter and Matthew just came back with 440 quarts of beautiful picked berries from some of the other no-spray growers that feed this stand. These berries are at the stand for sale this afternoon. We are overstocked with asparagus today. The heat also makes asparagus grow very fast. We cut the asparagus hard first thing in the morning yesterday. We cut it again after supper and there was about 8 inches of growth in 12 hours. Bulk asparagus is available for $3 per lb for the next few days. Get it now as it is soon time to end asparagus. There is a glorious patch of poppies and other wildflowers in the cover crop in front of the stand. We are continuing the free u-cut flowers policy that was last year. Be our guest and cut yourself a pretty bunch for the table or just take pictures. Poppies have a very short vase life but are so pretty for the moment they last. We will be continuing many of the changes from last year as they worked well. During busy times there will be an outside express checkout option for berries that are being bought by volume.

Hours for u-pick are Monday starting at 7 AM; Wednesday, start 2 PM (no morning picking on Wednesdays); Saturday, start 7 AM. This repeats through out the whole season. The patch closes when the berries are all picked or at 6 PM.
When you arrive you do not need to stop at the stand to weigh your containers if you know the empty weight already. Also you do not need to stop if you are picking into standard Quart or gallon containers.
You have the option of bringing your own containers or buy empties from us.(Quart boxes 25 cents each or $20 per hundred. Gallon buckets $3 each.)
We will do our best to spread groups apart in the field. I expect family/friend groups to stay together as much as is reasonable to allow for social distancing where it matters. NO DOGS in the field or stand areas. We will be using the same random picking pattern that we did last year. This means that you may start anyplace you wish in the patches that are open as long as you are not cutting in front of someone. It is mandatory that when you are picking that all the ripe berries are picked as you move ( No roaming or grazing type picking. A section of row must either be picked or not picked when you leave. We will be scouting the patch and kept suggesting where you will find good picking.
Pricing (u-pick) $4 per Quart if less than 8 quarts and $3.25 per quart if more than 8 quarts; $26 for 8 quart tray and $12.50 for 4 liquid quart buckets, water pitchers, bowls and other similar sized containers. All containers are expected to well filled but not heaped. We will adjust prices up or down as needed for over or under-filled containers. By the pound price is $2.20/# (limited to bigger containers or larger amounts); By using volume rather than weight when it makes sense we can bypass the stand for most of the berries and reduce congestion. Daniel