Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Still Many Apples, Some Pecans for Sale

    We still have many harvested 'Enterprise' and 'GoldRush' apples for sale now and for the next 5 months or more, until late June or early July.  'Enterprise' apples are sweet-tart, crisp and juicy, great for fresh eating and for making pies, applesauce, apple butter, etc.  They keep well in a refrigerator for 6 to 7 months.  'GoldRush' apples keep well in a refrigerator for 8 to 10 months, and have gotten sweeter now in cold storage, as starches convert into sugars.
We still have many harvested 'Enterprise' (red apples at left) and 'GoldRush' (yellow apples at right) for sale, now till about late June or early July.
   We have many harvested 2nds apples, with small cracks or hail damage, great for baking or for making applesauce or apple butter.  Usually 95% to 98% of the fruit is still usable, but they're 70% the cost.  Many recipes featuring apples and pecans are posted as Notes on our Facebook page, Brendas Berries.
   We're now selling our last and largest pecan variety, 'Pawnee'.  We'll have cracked pecans for sale until we sell out, probably till late Feb. or early March.  Apple and pecan prices are detailed in the Dec. 19 blog post (scroll down 2 posts). 
We're now selling cracked 'Pawnee' pecans.  This is our last and largest pecan variety.
   We're still open by appointment until May 31.  That means, during Dec. to May, to phone 620-597-2450 a day ahead and leave a message on the answering machine with your name, the crops you want, and the day and time you're coming.  The phone rings in the house, so I'll answer it on super-cold days when I'm inside working on the computer.  On warmer days, I'll get your message when I come in from working in the the sales building or orchard.  Then I'll meet you in the sales building when you arrive here.
  
You can make an appointment for between 9:00 and 11:45 a.m. or between 1:00 and 5:15 p.m. Mon. to Sat., and between 1:30 and 5:15 p.m. Sundays.  We're closed every Sunday morning, year-round, for church.  

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Fruit Crops Survive Cold

   The temperature here dropped to -8 F this morning.  Thankfully, that should not be low enough to reduce our 2018 peach or thornless blackberry crops.  If the temperature drops to -10 F, as it did in early Feb. 2014, most fruit buds are killed.  That could wipe out the entire peach crop and reduce the thornless blackberry crop by 75%, as happened in 2014.  I am praying that we'll get through the rest of the winter and early spring and have a good crop of both peaches and thornless blackberries, as we did in 2015 and 2017, thanks be to God.
Our peach orchard is beautiful in the snow. Thankfully, peach fruit buds should survive this cold.
   We still have many harvested 'Enterprise' and 'GoldRush' apples for sale now and for the next 5 months or more, until late June or early July.  'Enterprise' apples are sweet-tart, crisp and juicy, great for fresh eating and for making pies, applesauce, apple butter, etc.  They keep well in a refrigerator for 6 to 7 months.  'GoldRush' apples keep well in a refrigerator for 8 to 10 months, and have gotten sweeter now in cold storage, as starches convert into sugars.
Our apple trees are very cold-hardy, so no damage should occur to fruit buds.


   I eat a 'GoldRush' apple every day with my lunch.  For breakfast and afternoon snack, I often eat foods I make with 'Enterprise' apples and pecans, such as apple pecan pancakes, cooked apples and pecans on waffles, and apple pecan crisp. Many recipes featuring apples and pecans are posted as Notes on our Facebook page, Brendas Berries.
   Many people have been buying pecans, so we'll have cracked pecans for sale until we sell out, probably till mid-Feb.  Apple and pecan prices are detailed in the previous blog post (scroll down).
Pecan trees are also very winter-hardy, so aren't hurt by the cold.
    Please remember, since there is no phone line to the sales building, we do not have a card reader.  So we can NOT accept credit cards or debit cards for payment.  We accept cash and checks from any state, so please bring your checkbook or enough cash to cover the amount of food you want to buy.  Thanks.
   From Dec. 1 to May 31, we're open by appointment.  That means, during Dec. to May, to phone 620-597-2450 a day ahead and leave a message on the answering machine with your name, the crops you want, and the day and time you're coming.  The phone rings in the house, so I'll answer it on super-cold days when I'm inside working on the computer.  On warmer days, I'll get your message when I come in from working in the the sales building or orchard.  Then I'll meet you in the sales building when you arrive here.
  
You can make an appointment for between 9:00 and 11:45 a.m. or between 1:00 and 5:15 p.m. Mon. to Sat., and between 1:30 and 5:15 p.m. Sundays.  We're closed every Sunday morning, year-round, for church.