All of the blueberry plants were in full bloom last week after two weeks of glorious warm weather. And all of those plants now have withered, brittle blooms after the deep freeze that hit last weekend.
I will be very surprised if we get enough fruit from 260 bushes to make a couple of pies, some smoothies, and if we're really blessed, I might be able to freeze a couple of quarts for the off-season. There won't be enough to sell at market.
My potato plants are looking like goners, too. The leaves are mostly dark brown and the stems seem soft, which I can't think is a good sign. Never having grown potatoes before, I'm not exactly sure what a dead plant looks like, but I'll be shocked if any of them survived. The wheat straw mulch, although applied thickly, does not seem to have worked. I should've gone with plastic. Rookie mistake. I don't know....it was so cold for four days, it might not have made a difference.
To say that I'm crushed is a bit of an understatement right now. I'm pretty heavily crushed.
Showing posts with label berries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label berries. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Friday, April 6, 2007
Snowing
On April 6, tonight, we experienced a brief snow shower at 9pm. The temperature tonight is targeted to hit 28F, with Saturday night's low dropping to 24F. I can't remember it this cold this late. I'm sure it has been, but certainly not since we've been farming!
Every blueberry bush is already in full bloom. Mike and Mom and a couple of the offspring covered up the largest ones with sheets. Our only irrigation is a drip tube at the base of the plant; the other huge blueberry producer two counties over has overhead sprayers in place to intermittently shower water on the blooms to protect them right at 32F. We do not have that option.
And I didn't even think about the honeybees! We're six hives down already with the colony collapse going on, and if another one is lost to the bitter cold.......will there be enough bee action to pollinate the blooms, assuming there are any remaining after this deep freeze?
So I pray. I pray that God will protect our blossoms and the fruit they will yield, and that He will be glorified in our crop success or failure. He knows what we need, how much fruit we can handle and I trust Him to provide it.
Tomorrow, construction of the chicken pens. Pics to follow.
Every blueberry bush is already in full bloom. Mike and Mom and a couple of the offspring covered up the largest ones with sheets. Our only irrigation is a drip tube at the base of the plant; the other huge blueberry producer two counties over has overhead sprayers in place to intermittently shower water on the blooms to protect them right at 32F. We do not have that option.
And I didn't even think about the honeybees! We're six hives down already with the colony collapse going on, and if another one is lost to the bitter cold.......will there be enough bee action to pollinate the blooms, assuming there are any remaining after this deep freeze?
So I pray. I pray that God will protect our blossoms and the fruit they will yield, and that He will be glorified in our crop success or failure. He knows what we need, how much fruit we can handle and I trust Him to provide it.
Tomorrow, construction of the chicken pens. Pics to follow.
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