2009 SEASON

FARM UPDATES

Sunday, July 5, 2009	Our 2009 Blueberry season has ended and our Blueberry field is now closed. We anticipate opening for 2010 at the end of May. For 2010, we will be changing the days that we will be open. We will be closed Monday and Tuesday. And, the Blueberry field will be open, Wednesday through Sunday, from 7am to 9pm. Now for a personal note. This 2009 Blueberry season was truly a tough season for Blueberry lovers. Even though it was a bad season, what made it a great season was each and every one of you. I really enjoyed getting to visit with so many of you. Your joy at being at our farm makes me feel so good. You all mean so much to me. Such that, I try my very best to make your visit to our farm a most enjoyable one. May you have a wonderful year. And, I hope that we have a super Blueberry crop for you in 2010. Sid Moorhead
Friday, July 3, 2009	With the lack of rain, the heat wave, few ripe Blueberries, and the expected number of Blueberry pickers this weekend, there probably will not be much left after this Sunday. A rain at this time will be too late for the Blueberries. Therefore, the last day of our 2009 Blueberry season will be Sunday, July 5^th. We will be open Friday and Saturday from 7am to 9pm. On Sunday, our last day, we will be open from 7am to Noon.
Thursday, July 2, 2009	Well, we still have not gotten any rain. As such, Blueberry picking remains the same. You should get between 2 to 4 pounds of Blueberries. They are sweet, but small. Those of you that have been waiting for Blueberry conditions to improve should not wait. I think that Blueberry picking will not get any better. We will be open the 4^th of July weekend and plan to be open through Sunday, July 12^th. If we get that much needed rain, I will update this web site with the news. Otherwise, my next update will be on Monday.
Monday, June 29, 2009	Still the same Blueberry conditions. Pickers are still getting between 2 to 4 pounds of Blueberries. Even though with out the rain, the Blueberries are smaller than normal; they are very sweet. I’ve quit doing the rain dance. Apparently, I’ve been doing the “drought” dance. So, with that, we should get that half inch of rain and things should improve. We will be open the 4^th of July weekend, rain or no rain. I’ll post my next update this Thursday.
Thursday, June 25, 2009	Not much has changed since my last update. Until we get a rain, you should get between 2 to 4 pounds of small Blueberries. It’s going to be tough for Blueberry lovers this year. However, we plan to be open through July 12^th, because we are going to get that rain!
Monday, June 22, 2009	More of the same, hot, dry weather, causing fewer ripe Blueberries. Until we get a rain, the ripe Blueberries will be smaller than normal. Even though I water, the Blueberries need a good rain. Conditions may improve by this weekend. Should you come to our farm the first days of this week, you should get between 2 to 4 pounds of Blueberries. My next update will be on Thursday, sooner if conditions change.
Thursday, June 18, 2009	Very little has changed since my last update. I had hoped that more Blueberries would be ripe by now. But, this heat wave has slowed down the ripening process. There are a lot more pink and green berries. People are still getting on average 2 to 4 pounds of Blueberries. So, through the weekend, Blueberry picking will be tough. You’re going to have to get very personal with the Blueberry bushes in order to get your Blueberries. As I like to say, “become one with the bush”. With the way things are progressing, it looks like the week before the 4^th might be the best time to come. Unless conditions change, my next update will be on Monday.
Monday, June 15, 2009	Blueberry picking will still be slim through Wednesday. We had a lot of pickers this weekend, and they left very few ripe Blueberries. The good news is that they left the pink ones, which should start to ripen by Thursday. If you decide to come to our farm the first part of this week, you might get 2 to 4 pounds of Blueberries in an hour. However, I think Blueberry picking will be better towards the end of the week. I will post my next update on Thursday, in order for you to know how the rest of the week looks for Blueberry picking.
Friday, June 12, 2009	After today’s Blueberry picking, we’re back to slim picking, once more. We had more pickers come today than we have ever had come in one day. As far as the number of Blueberry pickers coming, our Thursday’s look like Friday’s and our Friday’s look like Saturday’s. I have no idea what Saturday will be like. What I do know is that Blueberry picking for this weekend will be difficult. You will need to move all over the Blueberry field and really work hard to find ripe Blueberries. It’s not that we are running out of Blueberries. We have lots of them. The only problem is that they are pink and not ready for picking. That may take another week. With this dry weather, it may take longer. This Blueberry season has been quit a roller coaster ride. I’m hoping that it will get to be a lot more fun, as in having more ripe Blueberries to pick. My next update will be this Monday.
Thursday, June 11, 2009	The picking for Blueberries has improved such that it’s better than slim. The number of pickers has also increased. Such that, available ripe Blueberries will not get any better. In an hour, you should get between 4 to 6 pounds of Blueberries. This should be the case for the remainder of June. Therefore, I recommend that you come to our farm whenever you can. If you decide to come this weekend, come as early as possible. It might get a little busy. My next update will be on Monday, unless conditions change.
Monday, June 8, 2009	Blueberry picking still remains slim thru Thursday. However, if you really work at it, you should be able to get a good amount. One couple was able to get 10lbs in about an hour. It still looks promising for this weekend. But, really easy picking probably won’t happen until next week. I’ll post my next update Thursday.
Friday, June 5, 2009	After today’s picking, it will be slim picking for this weekend. For some reason a lot of you came today and picked most of the ripe Blueberries. For those of you that did not come today, I suggest that you wait until next weekend. Right now, there are a lot of pink berries, which should be getting ripe in a week. I will be posting my next update on Monday. One quick note, please remember that we only accept cash or check for payment of your Blueberries, no plastic.
Thursday, June 4, 2009	Picking should be good for the weekend. It won’t be as good as last weekend, as far as filling your bucket off of one or two bushes. But, you should be able to fill your bucket by moving around from one Blueberry bush to the next. It appears that we will be getting more and more ripe Blueberries as we get closer to June 13th. With the peak, starting June 20^th. After which, picking should be real good all the month of June.
Monday, June 1, 2009	This past weekend we had a lot of Blueberry pickers. And, they did pick a lot. But, they didn’t get them all. So, if you come this week you will be able to get between 6 to 8 lbs in about one to two hours. By this weekend, more Blueberries should be getting ripe, and you may be able to get more Blueberries in a shorter time. For those of you that want more Blueberries or have small children, I recommend that you wait for the other varieties to get ripe before you come to our farm. The weekend of June 13^th looks good for that. By that time, there should be lots of ripe Blueberries lower to the ground and easier picking. After which, the rest of June looks real good for picking lots of Blueberries. It’s too early to tell, but I think our season will continue past the 4^th of July. I plan on mailing the reminder cards that were filled out last year possibly in two weeks. Look for my next update this Thursday, in order for you to know how the weekend will be for picking Blueberries. Now that we are open, I will be updating our web site on Mondays and Thursdays.
Saturday, May 30, 2009	Our Blueberry field is now open for 2009. We will be open every day from 7am to 9pm. We anticipate that our season will last the whole month of June and may go past the 4^th of July. At this time, it is too early to say just how long our Blueberry season will last. As you may have read from our previous updates, the varieties that are ripe at this time are not very plentiful. But in a week or perhaps a little longer the remaining varieties should be getting ripe. They still look as though they are going to be lots and lots of them. Which I find wonderful, considering how I felt in April. My next update will be Monday evening, after I have checked the field to see how it looks after this week-end.
Monday, May 25, 2009	Our Blueberry field’s opening day will be Saturday, May 30, 2009. We will be open 7days a week from 7am to 9pm. The varieties that are getting ripe at this time were hardest hit by the frost we received in April. Such that, there are fewer Blueberries than in previous years. To pick them will be somewhat difficult since most are high up on the bushes or way in the back of our Blueberry field. If you decide to come the opening weekend, it is recommended that you come as early as possible. More likely, there will be a lot of Blueberry pickers and not enough Blueberries. For those of you that decide to wait until the other varieties get ripe, I think that you will have a more enjoyable experience. They are beginning to show signs of ripening. And, it appears that they are going to be loaded with Blueberries. It is possible that they may even be ripe as early as June 6^th. I will let you know the first of next week. When coming to our Blueberry farm, be very careful while driving on FM1314. There is major construction from Texas 242 all the way to Highway 59 at Porter. The speed limit is 45mph and, it is being patrolled.
Monday, May 18, 2009	The Blueberries are looking better each day. Such that, it appears that we just may open our Blueberry field on Saturday, May 30, 2009. Even though there will not be very many early ripening Blueberries, there will be enough to open. Those of you that wish to wait until there are more ripe Blueberries i.e. the later ripening varieties, may not have to wait that long. They may be getting ripe starting June 13 or June 20 and continue past the 4^th of July. Right now, this is my best guess. In a week, I will perhaps have a better idea on all the above dates. So, check back with me next week. In the mean time, enjoy this wonderful weather!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009	I bring you better news than my last update. I may have over estimated the frost damage to our Blueberry farm. That is, to the later ripening varieties, namely Tifblue. They are more noticeable now and there appears to be a lot of them. So, the second half of our Blueberry season should be quite good. However, this cannot be said about the early ripening varieties, namely Premier. There’s just not very many of them. And, the ones that made it through the frost are mostly way up high on the bushes. With all this in mind, we may open our Blueberry field either Saturday, May 30^th or Saturday, June 6^th. I still do not plan to be open Memorial Day weekend. My next update will be the first of next week.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009	Greetings from Blueberry farm. Unfortunately, I bring you bad news. Our Blueberry farm was dealt a serious blow from the late freeze it received Tuesday morning, April 7. I estimate that the early ripening varieties, Premier, Climax, and Becky Blue experienced a 95% loss. And, the later ripening varieties, Tifblue, Powder Blue, and Garden Blue received a 70% loss. It could have been a lot worse. Having a freeze so late, it should have been a 100% loss for all varieties. With all this in mind, I think with only 35% surviving that I still have enough Blueberries to warrant opening the farm. And, that’s the dilemma. When do I open the Blueberry field? As of this date, I will not open Memorial Day weekend. I’m leaning towards, Saturday, June 6^th or the following Saturday, June 13^th. As we get closer to June, I will know better when to open. This is going to be a very difficult Blueberry season to manage. My main concern is for you. I know that the journey to our farm is not that easy and once you get here, there’s the heat. And, now, there’s not going to be very many Blueberries. So, I will open the Blueberry field when it is best for you. The only good news that I can give you is that I will not be raising the price of our Blueberries! This will be the 9^th year that the price of our Blueberries will be $1.50 per pound. Look for my next update around May 15^th.