Don’t Be Sheepish – Come On Up!

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Crop Report — September 17, 2019

Now is such a great time to come up and visit us!  Not only do we have the awesome apples, berries and flowers for you to pick – but we are on “baby watch” as 2 of our ewe’s are pregnant down in the Colonial sheep pen – so we are on baby watch for the newest members of the farm … who knows, maybe you could be there to see the births!
Even though we are nearing the end of berry season, there is still plenty to pick – so make sure that you get some before you have to wait for next year!
Below is the crop report for this week – Enjoy!
APPLES
This week in the apple orchard U pick we will have Gravenstein’s and Senshu’s.  We are light on the Gravensteins, so make sure you come and get them while you still can.
  • Gravenstein’s are a very old apple of European origin believed to have originated in the 1600’s with Duke Augustenberg of Castle Graefenstein ( Gravenstein) in Germany. It was introduced into the United States in the 1820’s by Russian settlers moving into California. This is a tart apple that sweetens as it is eaten.  Eating or cooking.
  • Senshu is a newer apple (introduced in 1980), with a taste reminsicent of a Jonagold.  Sweet and crisp – best for eating (not cooking).   It is a cross of a Toko and a Fuji.  Red and yellow striping with a white flesh.

PEARS

We have an abundance of pears and they are in that perfect spot for picking.  As a reminder from last week’s crop report:

  • Pears are one of the few fruits that ripen OFF the tree.
  • IF you leave the pear on the tree to ripen, it does so incorrectly and will ripen from the middle outward – leaving a mushy, overripe center with varying degrees of mush throughout.
  • They will come off the tree when you lift up slightly on the pear and do a slight twist. Only a 1/4 of a turn.  If it does not come off with this method, then it is not ready – just move on to the next fruit on the tree.
  • Now that you have your pears off the tree and at home – how do you get them to ripen?  For the most consistent (and best result) – place your pears in the refrigerator or a cool place in the house (optimum temperature being 40F).  But, if you don’t have room in your refrigerator – do not dismay – you can leave them on your countertop and they will do just fine (just keep them out of direct sunlight).  This may differ from the way you store your pears from the grocery store because the pears from the grocery store have already been placed in cold storage from the grower and distributor.
BERRIES
  • We are light on strawberries this week.  Even though they can be small, they have a great flavor and are deep red throughout. The majority will be in the strawberry field by our Farmall tractor.
  • Medium on the blackberries.  They have been frequently visited by our pollinators throughout the season to give you a large, robust berry.  As a reminder, these are heirloom canes – so the berry is great for cooking and has a complex flavor.
  • The raspberries are a bit lighter this week as the season is coming to an end, so make usre a come grab them before they are gone.
FLOWERS
  • The Zinnia blooms are out of this world  –  it is easy to see why they are one of the favorites of U pick enthusiasts throughout the country.
  • This season we added to our sunflower field – not only do we have the standard sunflower, but we have deep burgandy red and lemon yellow to give your sunflower bouquet blooms that aren’t available elsewhere.
PUMPKINS
  • As cute and quaint as our pumpkins are right now – they are NOT ready for picking – so please let them continue to grow.  Look to the first part of October for us to open the pumpkien fields as everything this year is just a wee bit later than last season.  The pumpkins are just fantastic and we will have several varieties ready for you throughout the Fall season.   PLEASE do NOT venture out into the pumpkin patches (as tempting as it might be)  as we need to leave the fields undisturbed for optimum growing conditions. 🙂
CORN
  • Our Indian corn is really coming on (despite the bears trampling a good portion of the stalks), but please let it be, as it is still needing some growing time.

We look forward to seeing you!

 

 

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This post was written by Jim Riley

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