Tag Archives: blueberries

Peregrine Farm News Vol. 17 #18, 5/20/20

What’s been going on! 

This is certainly a capper for a couple of weeks of dramatic weather turns.  We are looking at 4-5 inches of rain over this four day stretch and it is really throwing a wrench into the farm works.  It is one thing to cut lettuce in the rain (a task I have done, unfortunately more times than I wish to count) but to pick fussy crops like blueberries and sugar snap peas is untenable.

We picked blueberries as hard as we could on Monday, it also appears to be the peak week for this year which makes it doubly frustrating.  No picking yesterday, today or probably tomorrow which loads the work onto Friday, already busy with the normal market harvest.  We do have a few people lined up to help but we will never get to all of the berries.  We did sneak out yesterday, in between showers, to pick damp peas which is never a good practice as it will spread the pea enation virus up and down the rows but the pea crop never lasts more than two weeks anyway.  80 pounds of beautiful peas and we will try do the same tomorrow if the rain will let us, you have to pick them at just the right size so they cannot wait.

Everything else looks good in the fields and tunnels, we appear to be past the production gap we have had the last few weeks.  We actually needed some rain but not this much for this many days.  Our last planting for the year went into the ground Monday and we are now in the count down to the end of our season with just six more markets.  Hard to believe it is Memorial Day weekend!

Picture of the week

IMG_20200519_143107865_HDRNot sure what is scarier, the rain or the Scare Eye balloon?

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Peregrine Farm News Vol. 16 #17, 5/23/19

What’s been going on!

 It is a steady, even, push this week and next to pick as many blueberries as we can and get the rest of the farm chores done and then we can slide into a more leisurely and summer like schedule.  We are out every morning now at 7:00 a.m. partly to beat the heat (which has not been too bad so far) and get a few things done before any berry pickers arrive at 8:00.

It is a smaller crop this year than last and it will be short and sweet.  We anticipate picking the last berries next Friday, the heat is certainly making them ripen fast, concentrating everything into two weeks instead of the usual three.  That is okay too, we only have so many additional helpers and we can only focus on it for so long.  For the first time ever we have had several market regulars come out to help and it has been quite entertaining to get to know them better, hear new stories and tell our old stories to them.

Another milestone this week as we planted the last few crops for this season.  One more round of lettuce and callaloo and that is it for this year, we should have had some champagne but had too much else to do that day, typical.  Betsy reminds me that we have five weeks left after this Saturday.

Pictures of the Week

P1050053The scare eye balloon protecting the blueberries

P1050052 The very last crops for 2019

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Peregrine Farm News Vol. 16 #16, 5/16/19

What’s been going on! 

Blackberry Winter rolling right into Blueberry Summer.  Three mornings in the 40’s two in the low 40’s maybe high 30’s, cold enough to give a little damage on the tender basil leaves.  A few glorious days but starting tomorrow we head straight into the oven.  One forecast I looked at has fourteen straight days in the high 80’s and low 90’s!  That will push all of the summer crops and strain the last of the cool season crops.

In preparation we have opened the tunnels wide for good air flow and have given all crops a big drink of water and will head into our summer irrigation routine of every other day watering to keep everything moist and happy, got to keep those tomatoes growing strong and filling out the fruit!

The blueberries will ripen fast too and while we will probably pick a few tomorrow the season will start in earnest next week and last a little over two weeks.  We are still looking for more blueberry pickers, if you know anyone who might be interested please have them contact us.  This is not pick-your-own but paid work.  We pick every weekday morning, 8:00-noon.  We will take folks who want to pick one day or every day.  $10 an hour, cash.  It happens to be the most enjoyable harvest job on the farm, cool mornings, birds singing, stand up work.

Picture of the Week

 IMG_20190516_121507Tomatoes looking great, almost to the top of the trellis and wide open, ready for the heat.

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Peregrine Farm News Vol. 15 #15, 5/30/18

What’s been going on!

Almost to June and the Farm to Fork Picnic is nearly here this Sunday.  A little different set up this year, back to just the actual picnic this weekend with the other events spread out across the year.  It makes it much easier on everyone involved- farmers, chefs and eaters.  The last two years, with three events all on one weekend, wore everyone down.  Still at the Fearrington Village for the shade and cover from rain in case that occurs.

The event is an important fundraiser for beginning farmer training programs at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems and the W.C. Breeze Family Farm Agricultural Extension & Research Center.  Betsy and I serve on the Board of Advisors for CEFS and have been very involved with this event from the beginning.  We are again paired with our good friends at Pizzeria Mercato.  Tickets are still available and it is guaranteed to be tasty and fun.

May rains bring June tomatoes or something like that, it is for sure bringing lots of big blueberries which has been our main focus all week, we have been picking every day except Saturday trying to beat the rains and get them off the bushes in peak condition.  This is the peak week and so far the rains have held off every morning and we have just enough pickers to get the job done but we will be happier when we only have to pick tomatoes!

Picture of the Week

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Damp Blueberries

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Peregrine Farm News Vol. 15 #14, 5/25/18

What’s been going on!

Wow!  Memorial Day weekend already, how did that happen?  One of those weeks with lots going on and further complicated by all the rain, as we knew it would. Nearly 5 inches for us but we did manage to get all the peppers in the ground on Wednesday and Thursday so we are now ready for the next tropical depression coming our way for the weekend, at least Saturday doesn’t look too bad but Sunday and Monday wet.

Past the peppers the blueberries came on much faster than we had anticipated with this cool spring and we had to start picking on Wednesday.  The one good thing about the rain is that it came just at the right time to make the berries nice and big.  Beautiful crop and we will try and get as many picked for market as we can.

It didn’t help that months ago I had agreed to two events one on Wednesday and another on Thursday, the only dry day in the past seven.  Wednesday morning, very early, I was again in Raleigh speaking on behalf of farmers and other self-employed people who fall into the health insurance gap for the expansion of Medicaid.

Yesterday I was up early to do the required tractor work so we could plant the last of the peppers and then had to drive to the other side of Raleigh to talk about pastured turkey production at an Extension conference.  No we are not raising turkeys again but there are relatively few who do and I was an easy target.  Then I rushed home to get back on the tractor to cultivate the winter squash before we lose them to the sea of crab grass that has sprouted from the rains.  Glad all I have to do today is pick blueberries!

Picture of the Week

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Peppers happy to be in the ground, heavy mulch of rye and vetch

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Peregrine Farm News Vol. 14 #14, 5/19/17

What’s been going on!

Always something new or at least a new twist.  Birds are a common problem in blueberry fields but our losses have always been relatively small and we lived with them flitting in and out of the bushes.  Last year when we had a very tiny crop as a result of the late April freeze the birds got them all.

This spring’s hard March freezes took maybe half of the blooms but the remaining fruit looked good and with the crazy generally warm conditions they began ripening early, just like all the vegetables some of which have been weeks early.  We could have begun picking last Friday which is a least 10 days early but decided to wait until Monday and then we realized the berries that were turning blue were disappearing, damn the birds are back!

The gold standard for bird protection is netting but we don’t have any, didn’t want to buy any much less have to cover and uncover 100 foot long, seven foot tall rows of bushes.  Big growers sometimes have to build structures over their whole fields to support netting so the mowing and picking can happen underneath.  Not going there.  There are plastic owls and hawks, propane cannons that explode every so often to scare flocks away, not going there either.

Ours are a mix of birds, mostly small birds alone or in tiny groups.  Last year it was cedar waxwings moving through.  We had to move fast so we went with the fun house/disco look.  We ordered, with overnight delivery, scare eye balloons to mimic predators to hang in the field and shiny mylar holographic tape to tie onto the bushes, hasn’t chased all the birds away but enough that we are picking.

Picture of the Week

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Blueberries, scary balloons, flashy tape can you hear the music?

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Peregrine Farm News Vol. 13 #15, 5/26/16

What’s been going on!

So I am afraid to say that it looks like we may not get any blueberries this season.  We knew way back last winter that we would have a smaller crop when they started blooming in the unusually warm December weather.  When they started blooming again   in late March we felt like there was still a substantial number of blooms so maybe an OK crop.  26 degrees on April 6th reduced the number of berries even further.  Now with so few berries out there the birds are taking everyone just as they begin to show any color.

We have seen this twice before.  In 2001 when we had what everyone now refers to as “the Easter Freeze” with 24 degrees on April 18th and again in 2007 with five nights in the 20’s the first week of April.  Both years we had a tiny fruit set which the birds and squirrels took either all or most of.  What happens when we have late freezes like that it not only kills domesticated fruit buds but wild fruiting plants too, leaving not much for the wildlife who in turn eat where the pickin’s are good, our bushes!

Could we net the bushes and save what we have, sure if we had netting here and when weighing the cost of netting and the labor to put it on and take it off to pick it is hard to say if it is worth it with a small crop.  So now we will wait and see if this flock of birds will move on or not.

The good news is we have gotten all the peppers in the ground and they look great.  The big planting of tomatoes we finally got pruned and tied up for the first time and they look happy too.  Every day we look for a ripe tomato in the little tunnels knowing that sometime in the next week we should be able to eat one!  Take that you birds!

Picture of the Week

P1020332

Even the fake rubber snakes don’t slow the birds down

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Peregrine Farm News Vol. 12 #12, 5/28/15

What’s been going on!

We hope that everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend and took full advantage of the amazing weather.  We missed the newsletter last week as we were pushing hard to get the peppers all planted before last Friday, almost.  Just 3 beds shy of finishing but the rest were tucked in the ground on Monday.  Perfect conditions for transplanting the 2800 plants, which got a big watering in with yesterday’s 1.5” of rain.

This week’s big push is blueberry picking!  Despite the cold spring they started right on time and with force this week and we are working hard to find enough people to get them harvested.  Five folks out there today and maybe as many as eight tomorrow.  They look good, lots of big fruit.

Only barely over a week left to get your tickets to any one of the three (or all of them) Farm to Fork Weekend events.  Expanded this year to three days to raise even more money for training programs for new farmers.  It starts on Friday (6/5) with a special five chef dinner at Duke Gardens.  Saturday evening is the very affordable CEFS Sustainable Ag. Lecture with fisheries expert Paul Greenberg and a tasty fish dinner.  Then Sunday of course is the Picnic itself, we are working with our friends at ACME this year and the food will be great!  If you can do all three there is a discounted price of $275, for an incredible selection of foods, farmers, chefs and discussion.

Pictures of the Week

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Two very happy pepper planters, Lacey and Jennie headed to the field

IMG_2728

Maybe the best Campanula we have ever grown

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Peregrine Farm News Vol. 11 #12, 5/30/14

What’s been going on!

A huge week.  Starting with getting all the peppers in the ground, ending with the start of blueberry picking.  We have moved our pepper planting date back to the third week of May for numerous reasons.  Most people plant their peppers too early when the soil is still cool and the weather unsettled, by the end of May those conditions have improved and the plants can really take off, growing a strong plant that doesn’t have to struggle to get established.  We have two other reasons to plant later; one- we want to let the hairy vetch cover crop get to bloom stage for maximum nitrogen and it is easier to kill, two- because we are in the colored bell business we want the peak of our harvest to be in the somewhat dryer and cooler nights of early September when the fruit quality is higher.  If we were in the green bell business, it wouldn’t matter as much, those things are tough as nails.

Conditions were perfect the end of last week go get the soil ready and Friday was not too hot so that the plants went in without too much stress.  The soil moisture and texture for the no till planting of bell peppers was a good as we have ever had and we rolled quickly through the planting.  A good watering in with the hose and then a long irrigation a few days later and the whole field looks as beautiful as can be possible.

While we could have picked some blueberries last Friday, we always feel we rush it a bit and the first ones aren’t as full ripe as if we wait a few days so Monday was the first official day and we had a small crew make the first pass through the field.  Now they are really rolling, fortunately other than a few days it has not been really hot so we are able to keep up, barely.  Next week should be the peak and we will need more pickers, if you know of any able bodies who might want to come out and pick any weekday morning have them contact us.  We pay cash, $8 an hour for the most enjoyable job anyone has ever had.

Just one week out from the Farm to Fork Picnic.  This year we are paired with our friend and good customer Bret Jennings from Elaine’s on Franklin.  We are still working on our menu items but for sure a blueberry desert and something savory.  Get your tickets now while they are still available and help raise money for new and beginning farmer programs at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems and the Breeze Farm in Orange County

Picture of the Week

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A lot of beautiful berries to pick

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Peregrine Farm News Vol. 10 #18, 6/5/13

What’s been going on!

OMG the Blueberries!  We saw this train coming and haven’t been able to get enough folks to push the car off the tracks fast enough.  Now I will admit that the organizing of the blueberry picking crew is free form but has always worked out with enough hands.  It is hard to both accurately predict when and how many berries there will be and with only a three week season, it is equally hard to get people who will organize their whole lives around a part time, mornings only job.  But for years we would have a few key folks who would then bring their friends and others would show up for a day or so and it has worked.

This season we have the key people and they have tried to shake their networks but it has resulted in just a few extra pickers.  Combined with one of, if not the biggest, crops we have ever had and it is now all hands on deck to try and get the berries off the plants before they hit the ground.  When all of us, including Betsy, are picking berries every morning you know we are in trouble.  Fortunately the weather is also not blistering hot and ripening the berries even faster.  This too we will survive but the resulting lack of attention to the other chores on the farm means there will be repercussions we will have to deal with in the weeks and months to come.  Oh well there will be good eating in the meantime.

Farm to Fork Picnic coming up this Sunday, still time to get your tickets as it is not quite sold out, yet.  Delivered the turkeys to Nana’s last week so they could get on with making the Smoked Turkey Sausage.  Tomorrow we will take them the vegetables for the Early Summer Vegetable Crostini and the Quick Fennel pickle that will top the sausage.  The weather looks really good for early June and it should be a great afternoon as always.

Picture of the Week

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More berries than leaves and Liz picking as fast as she can

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