I got a call yesterday from a local weather reporter. He had come out in April after the cold snap to do a story on our strawberries. Back then, I reported that the cold had no impact because the plants had not yet flowered. I'm sure the story he was looking for was one of impending doom.

So when I talked with him yesterday he wanted to know about the impact of the recent hot weather on our harvest. I thought to myself "what hot weather?" Seven out of the last 12 days temperatures were below normal. Except for a couple of spikes of hot weather, it actually seemed cool. I reported to him that the cool weather was actually helping to stretch out our berry season and creating conditions that were almost dream-like for berry farmers. Perhaps that was a story in itself, but certainly not the one he was seeking. He seemed to want disaster. As a last ditch effort to try to salvage a good disaster story, he asked me about the strawberry root weevil problem that had wiped out a neighboring farmer's strawberries and whether or not that had impacted us. Once again, I threw cold water on that one by pointing out that strawberry season was over and that the website where he'd gotten his information was out of date.

So, the bottom line, no disaster, no story....

Hi,
Welcome to my blog. I'm looking forward to sharing my daily thoughts on life on my farm. So far, it's been an exciting year. Our berry harvest this season was just huge and there are still many wonderful and tasty berries out in the fields. Our caneberries (blackberries, raspberries, boysenberries and marionberries) are winding up, but there are plenty of blueberries available for u-pick.

Just yesterday, my wife planted a few currant plants on the farm. Apparently, they were smuggled out of Finland in the mid 1970's by her father's cousin. Anyway, the family has been propagating the plants for years and we've added them to the end of one of our blueberry patches. If they survive the move, we'll have just a handful of currants next year.

Look back here for updates on the farm life....

Don Kruger