Many places in the Midwest have lost their blueberry crop for 2012 because of the record breaking heat wave in March followed by the April freezes. We have lost some of our crop also, but are blessed by many remaining healthy blossoms and developing berries. Our crop will certainly be diminished, but we expect a decent amount of blueberries for market and u-pick. The remaining berries may be bigger than usual. Blueberries are damaged at 28 degrees F and it was down to 26 degrees on April 22.

The blueberries are blooming already. This is about a month earlier than we’ve seen in the last 10 years. We typically get ripe blueberries about 5 to 6 weeks after the flowers. So it looks like blueberries may even be available in May — if a hard frost doesn’t destroy the early flowers. Please check back in early May.

We recently finished pruning the blueberry plants. Just in time! The flower buds are getting much bigger and could be blooming soon. Blueberries may be early this year. There was little winter damage or deer damage this year, so we expect a good crop if we don’t get a late hard frost.

Our blueberry crop is disappointing this year. We have maybe half of what we had last year. We suspect the late frost killed many of the blossoms. We will still be harvesting blueberries for a few weeks, but not in the quantity we usually have had.

On Saturday, June 25, we will open for picking blueberries, from 7 until noon. Most rows are unripe, or just starting, so quantities will be limited, but strawberry picking will also be open, so you can get some of each.

We will have a good quantity of blueberries and strawberries in Princeton this afternoon. We will also have rhubarb, peas, lettuce, beets, turnips, and some herbs. And, as always, our Plow Creek Bakery goodies.

Saturday we will be taking our first blueberries of the season to Peoria Market. We will also have some strawberries and a variety of vegetables. Come shortly after opening time for the best selection

This Saturday we will bring our first blueberries of the season to Princeton Farmers’ Market. We also still will have strawberries. Blueberry and strawberry supply may be limited, so you would have a better chance of getting what you’d like if you come near opening time at 8:30. We also plan to bring lettuce, radishes, cilantro, dill, rhubarb, wheat, garlic scapes and green garlic, sunchokes, sugar snap peas, arugula, and turnips. We have basil, tomato, and strawberry plants. And of course, lots of Plow Creek Bakery goodies.

It looks like we have about a cup of ripe blueberries in the patch now. I expect we will be able to pick some for the Princeton market next week. I’d predict we will have enough to be open for public picking in about 2 weeks.

The blueberries are now beginning to bloom abundantly. I currently expect we will be open for picking the last week of June or the first week of July. We may have some at markets earlier.

Happy Vernal Equinox to all. Spring just started at 6:21 A.M. But we’ve been listening to the spring peepers since Saturday a week ago. We finished pruning the blueberries on Monday. I think it will be a good blueberry year. We are now working on pruning the blackberries. They had a lot of disease last year, so I have doubts of how well they will do. Then we go on to pruning raspberries. We will take a break from pruning and divide the rhubarb. Tomato and pepper plants are looking healthy in the greenhouse. It’s also about time to take the mulch off the strawberries. We keep busy!

Hello Plow Creek Farm patrons, Many of you know us most for the delicious berries we have been growing here at our farm for over 30 years now. What you may not know is that in addition to all our berries, we also grow all kinds of other delicious fruits and vegetables that go into our weekly CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) shares. Each week, from June to October, members in our CSA program receive a box of fruits and vegetables from our farm. The shares are different each week and change depending on what is in season. You will find items like strawberries and leafy greens in June, tomatoes, watermelons, and sweet corn in August, and winter squash and raspberries in the fall, just to name a few. Just like our berries, all the produce that goes into box is grown using sustainable farming practices and never with the use of toxic chemicals. The boxes are delivered each week to pick up locations in the Chicago area (Rogers Park neighborhood, Pilsen neighborhood, and Evanston) and this year, for the first time, we will have a pick up site at the Princeton Farmer’s market on Tuesdays for our local members. If you are not near any of these pick up sites, let us know as if we have enough interest, we can consider adding other drop off sites. There are only a limited number of CSA shares the farm can offer and they are sold on a first-come, first serve basis. There is also a $15 early bird discount for signing up before March 15th so you are encouraged to reserve your share soon. All the information about what a CSA is, how it works, what you can expect in your weekly box, and how you can go about signing up for a share can be found in our 2011 CSA sign-up sheet at our website www.plowcreekfarm.com. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Thanks and hope to see you in June, Matthew