Cooler Weather Delays Raspberry Ripening

   Red raspberry fruit are developing more slowly this spring due to cooler than average temperatures, so I've pushed back the start of red raspberry harvest by a few days.  I've also modified the expected ripening dates for our other berries, and availability dates for our other crops, as shown in the sidebar at left under Crop Sales Seasons.
   Only a few fruit are ripe at the very beginning of each crop's harvest season, and often many people come during the first few days of each crop's season.  Each berry crop gets plentiful by the second week of its season. 

Our workers and I used pneumatic pole pruners to bring down the height of our peach trees yesterday. Andie Johnson & Boone Scales worked on the tree at right, while others used hand loppers to remove dead branches.

   Our workers, Bill and I have been busy pruning and thinning our peach orchards for the last few days, and we'll keep thinning excess young peach fruit for the next 3 weeks.  This greatly reduces disease spread by keeping fruit from touching, and enables the peaches remaining on the trees to grow to a salable size and develop best flavor and sweetness.

This morning Bill and I used pneumatic limb shakers, powered by the air compressor on the tractor, to shake some excess young peach fruit from the trees. This afternoon our workers and I began follow-up hand thinning, which we'll do for the next 3 weeks.

    We still have many harvested apples for sale, especially 'GoldRush'.  This variety has an amazing storage life in regular cold storage, so it keeps well for 10 to 11 months in our coolers or your fridge.  Small amounts of harvested #1 apples cost $1.30 per pound + tax.  You save $1.00 if you buy a 20-lb. box of apples for $25.00 + tax.
   Our harvested #2 (2nds) apples sell for just $0.93 per pound + tax, so a 20-lb. box costs $18.60 + tax, which is $7.00 less than a box of #1 apples, including tax.  If you get 40 lbs. or more of #2 apples, the price goes down to just $0.88 per pound + tax, so each 20-lb. box costs $17.59 + tax, and 40 lb. of #2 apples costs just $35.18 + tax.
   We're also still selling cracked pecans until we sell out.  We sell mixed selections from Bill's pecan breeding program in 4-pound bags.  Each bag of cracked pecans has the equivalent of 6 pounds of in-shell pecans, and when you pick them out, you get at least 3 pounds of nutmeats.  These are all large pecans with thin shells and great taste.  Each 4-lb. bag costs $16.67 + tax.
   Colder temperatures have slowed asparagus harvest lately, but it should grow more as it gets warmer.  I'll keep harvesting and selling asparagus until early June.  We grow 'Jersey Knight' asparagus, an all-male variety that produces high yields of thicker spears since there are no female plants that spend energy producing berries.  I snap the spears where they break easily, so almost the entire harvested spear is tender and usable.

We still have freshly-harvested asparagus for sale for the next 3 weeks or so.

   Asparagus is sold harvested, still for $2.78 per pound + tax, and is limited.  So you do need to phone 620-597-2450 a day or two ahead and leave a message on our answering machine to order it, saying about how many pounds you want to get, and the day and time you'll come get it.
   We're still open by appointment until May 31, so you also need to phone 620-597-2450 a day or two ahead and leave a message on our answering machine to order apples and/or pecans.  I return calls after dark to confirm your appointment.
   From June 1 to Aug. 31, we're open our summer hours, shown in the sidebar at left under Open Hours.  You can just come during those hours.  We do not take appointments during summer, but you can phone 620-597-2450 a day ahead to leave a message asking how berry ripening is progressing, and I'll return your call after I come in from working in the orchards.
   Raspberries, and later blackberries, are sold pick-your-own only.  Once raspberry season starts, all types of raspberries cost $2.78 per pint + tax, pick-your-own.  We provide containers.
   For payment, we accept cash or checks from any state.  We do NOT accept any credit cards or debit cards, as we have no card reader or phone line to the sales building.  So please bring your checkbook or enough cash to cover the amount of fruit you want to buy.  Thanks.