Many Thornless Blackberries to Pick Now

     Many 'Natchez' thornless blackberries are ripe now and for the next 10 days or so.  We have a bumper crop of 'Natchez' thornless blackberries this year, and there are still many berries for customers to pick.  We have 7 rows of 'Natchez' thornless blackberries, and we have 2 other varieties of thornless blackberries that have just started ripening, so we'll still have many thornless blackberries to pick until about July 31.

Many 'Natchez' thornless blackberries are ripe for picking now and for the next 10 days.

  We also have many 'Ouachita' thornless blackberries to pick now, and several customers have asked to pick those.  'Ouachita' blackberries aren't quite as large, but are the sweetest with the smallest seeds and smallest torus (white part in the center of the blackberry fruit), so are my favorite variety for freezing for fruit salads.  'Apache' thornless blackberries have just started ripening, and some customers have picked these for their very large fruit.  All these varieties were developed by the University of Arkansas thornless blackberry breeding program.

   All thornless blackberries are sold pick-your-own only, for $4.63 per quart + sales tax.  There are NO chiggers or thorns, and you can pick a quart in 5 minutes.  Arriving here by 7:30 or 8 a.m. makes for a more enjoyable picking experience than does arriving later in the morning.  Evenings also cool down a bit.  Just allow enough time to finish picking and check out before our closing time (see left sidebar).

  We provide plastic quarts for you to pick berries into, and have you fill them level-full.  We have waxed picking flats to place quarts on while picking, and we appreciate it when customers bring cardboard, plastic or metal trays to place their blackberry quarts on to bring them home.  (We have cardboard trays for those who don't bring any, as Chetopa Foods saves them for us, which we also appreciate.)

   Do NOT bring bowls or bags to dump the berries into, as that damages them, and we want the berries to stay in the quarts you picked them into until you get them home.  Our plastic quarts are the best way to store blackberries in the fridge for 7 to 10 days.  Just put plastic wrap over the tops of the quarts, to prevent frost-free fridges from drying the berries out.

   Raspberry season has now ended.  Sales dates for all our crops are listed in the sidebar at left under Crop Sales Seasons. That also tells which crops are sold pick-your-own and which crops are sold harvested.  I adjust the dates as crop conditions change.

   Our peach crop will be VERY limited this summer, from about July 25 to Aug. 24.  I just pushed back the start date for peaches by 2 weeks, as our earliest peach variety was greatly hurt by the extended high heat and drought.  This variety is ripening later than normal, fruit will be small, and almost all fruit are 2nds with cracks or bird pecks.  If we do not get rain in the next couple weeks, our later peach varieties will also be almost all 2nds with cracks or bird pecks.

   From July 25 to Aug. 24, those interested in peaches may phone 620-597-2450 a day or two before you want to get peaches, and leave a message on our answering machine with your name, how many peaches you want, day & time you want to come, and your phone number.  You must state your phone number, with area code, for us to call you back to confirm.

   We also encourage those wanting peaches to contact Murphy Orchards near Marionville, MO or the peach orchard in Porter, OK.  Those are much bigger orchards than ours, and Murphy Orchards only grows peaches and apples, while the Porter, OK orchard specializes in peaches.

Our harvested, cracked pecans are over 75% pecan kernels and under 25% shell fragments.

   We do still have some harvested, cracked pecans for sale, now until about July 28.  These are big, beautiful pecans with thin shells and great taste.  Some originated from my husband Bill's pecan breeding program on our farm, so only exist here.  We sell cracked pecans in 4-pound bags, which are over 75% pecan kernels and under 25% shell fragments.  Each bag has the equivalent of 6 pounds of in-shell pecans, and when you pick out the pecan kernels, you get 3 pounds or more of nutmeats.  Each bag costs $18.52 + sales tax.

   Our parking areas can fit 3 vehicles between each pair of oak trees (which provide nice shade for your vehicle).  So please pull in straight, fairly close to a tree, or into the middle spot if 2 other vehicles are already parked next to the 2 trees.  That way we'll have enough parking spots for everyone who's coming to get fruit.  Thanks.

   We do not allow vehicles to idle in our parking areas.  Turn off the vehicle when you arrive, and do not turn it on again until you've checked out and loaded up and are ready to go.

   For payment, we accept cash and checks (from any state), but NO credit cards or debit cards.  We have no phone line to the sales building, and no card reader.  Please bring your checkbook or enough cash to cover the amount you want to buy.  Thanks.