Vacuum

Michigan strawberries are early in 2012

The early reports from strawberry growers that send out periodic newsletters to their perennial customers is that Michigan strawberries will be early this year. If you normally plan to pick on Father's Day, you may be too late for the crop.

None of the places I track are yet announcing opening dates for picking, but I'll share those when I have them; it's looking more like Memorial Day as the beginning of the season, with peak picking dates typically 7-10 days after the first opening day.

Some likely opening dates:

Whittaker's Berry Farm, Ida MI:  May 28th.

The 2012 Strawberry Season has arrived!  We will be open for the season TOMORROW, MAY 28TH, 8:00am-8:00pm.  The berries we are picking Monday are called Honeoye, they are very deep red in color, and have a DELICIOUS flavor!

Rowe's Produce Farm, Belleville MI: May 28th.

STRAWBERRY SEASON BEGINS MONDAY MAY 28TH !

Strawberry season, 2011 report

I went strawberry picking with my boys on Father's Day at Rowe's in Rawsonville. We picked two full trays of berries in what seemed like no time flat. The sun was not too hot, and the berries were not too ripe, and I think we nailed the right day to pick pretty much perfectly.

The challenge now is what to do with all of those berries. Some have been frozen, others are under sugar and hopefully will end up as sorbet, and still more get stored in the bellies of friends.

The boys are at the age where they are quick at berry picking and accurate enough not to pick bad berries. They are capable of picking more than they can eat. I'm looking forward to more berrypicking with them!

Michigan 2011 U-Pick strawberry season

Here's collected reports from the places that I'm on mailing lists for U-Pick strawberry season for 2011 near Ann Arbor. Comments welcomed.  The June 2011 "strawberry moon" (full moon) is June 15.

Whitaker's Berry Farm in Ida, MI (about 30 miles S of Ann Arbor.) opens Thursday, June 9, 2011 at 8:00 a.m. U-Pick $1.30/#, $3.25/qt prepicked.  "Those wanting real large amounts for canning and freezing, may wish to wait until closer to June 15th, which is when peak season should begin."

Rowe's Produce Farm in Rawsonville, MI (about 10 miles E of Ann Arbor) is opening on Thursday, June 9, 2011 at 7:00 a.m. U-Pick $1.57/#. Call for picking conditions 734-482-8538 as they may have to close Friday for more ripening.

DeGroot's Strawberries in Gregory, MI (about 45 miles NW of Ann Arbor) said "mid June" on its Facebook page about 3 weeks ago.

Gibb's Berry Farm in Eaton Rapids (about 60 miles WNW of Ann Arbor) is bringing strawberries to the Ann Arbor Farmers Market. Price was $4.25 /quart on the first week of June, often prices change during the season and dip during peak times when produce is more plentiful.

I'm looking forward to a Father's Day berrypicking trip, which should be about right. My notes from the 2008 strawberry season reminded me to bring more water while picking; the 2007 strawberry season notes an early use of Twitter to coordinate berrypicking.

The image is from The Illustrated Strawberry Culturist (Fuller, 1887).

Michigan 2009 strawberry season delayed by cold weather

Here's some reports from around the state of the strawberry crop.  (We're planning a trip to Rowe's in Rawsonville for Father's Day).

From the Detroit Free Press via FreshPlaza:

At DeGroot's Strawberries in Gregory, 16 acres of lush plants are close to ripening.

"It's not too hot and could be a little warmer," says Marsha DeGroot, who with her family has owned the Livingston County farm since 1978. "But the lovely winter with lots of snow made for a nice insulating blanket for the plants."

Pick-your-own strawberries will be $1.20 a pound at DeGroot's this year. Whittaker's strawberries sell for $1.25 a pound. And at Rowe's Produce Farm in Ypsilanti, the cost is $1.46 per pound, up 3 cents from last year.

From mlive.com again via FreshPlaza on the season in mid-Michigan:

Geri R. Hingston and her husband, James H. Hingston, own Hingstons Country, 18670 Dice in Merrill, a 4-acre you-pick farm with strawberries and other produce.

Customers usually begin harvesting the fruit about June 14, but she said she probably will delay by five or more days because of cooler weather, frost warnings and bees not coming out to pollinate.

A June 8 story in the Marquette Mining Journal (via the Escanaba Press) about UP strawberries:

"There were also a few days where overnight lows dropped close to the freezing mark at the Delta County Airport, however, it is possible inland areas did drop to or below freezing," said Fleegel.

A call by the Daily Press to Victor Ledvina, owner of Ledvina's Strawberry Farm in Flat Rock was unsuccessful.

There was also no indication of when picking would begin at Ledvina's Strawberry Farm.

Dave Pellegrini, operator of Pellegrini's Strawberry Farm said they had been irrigating five out of the past eight nights to prevent the fragile blossoms from frosting over.

The full moon in June is called the strawberry moon; it was on June 7.

Michigan u-pick strawberry season opens June 3, 2009 in Rawsonville, MI

We haven't scheduled our visit yet to Rowe's Produce Farm in Rawsonville, MI, but as a public service you should know that they are open.  From the mailing they sent out:

STRAWBERRY SEASON TO BEGIN SOON !!!!!!

The first day of the 2009 strawberry season will be Wednesday June 3rd.

As usual, when we first open not all of our varieties of berries are  ready to pick. If you are looking to pick massive amounts to freeze or make jam it would be better to wait until they are more plentiful. With the cool temperatures predicted the berries may not ripen that quickly. It is advisable to call the farm before you come out to make sure we are not closed to let them ripen up.

The price of the berries is $1.46 per pound and we furnish the containers for free.

We are open 7 am to 8 pm daily (weather permitting).

How did I find out about this, you ask?  "The List"

We at Rowes have been compiling lists of customer addresses over the years and been sending postcards to our customers when the strawberry and raspberry seasons are at their peak. Our strawberry list has over 12,000 addresses and the raspberry list has over 4,500. Due to rising costs of printing and postage we are no longer taking addresses for our lists. Instead we have started an email list. You can sign up for "The List" by sending us an email via the Contact Us page. Once you send us an email the email address you send from will be added to our new list. This way instead of getting one notice we are able to send updated information on picking conditions more often, better serving our customers. If you are on the "old" postcard list it would be appreciated if you would sign up for the email list and tell us your street address so we can remove it from the old list.

12000 strawberry pickers!  wow.  you should get on The List if you want more updates.  I didn't see any current info on their web site (other than "get on The List").

making fruit liqueurs, (or) how to prepare for the holidays well in advance

It's fruit season (or nearly so) and so it's time to start thinking about what we're going to do for making holiday gifts. One staple in our house is a simple fruit liqueur of some sort, which turns sugar + fruit + vodka + time into something yummy.

We are not generally a cocktails household, so part of the corresponding challenge is giving people some sense of what do to with the jar to help them enjoy it.

Some minimal collection of things to help for this year, one fruit at a time; not exhaustive, but maybe it will help jump start next year. Ordered in rough order of appearance of the fruit here.

• Strawberry liqueur. Irene's Strawberry liqueur from The Cottage Smallholder; noting that "There’s nothing like the distraction of homemade grog when times are getting tough."
• Juneberry liqueur. Saskatoons go with gin, says contributor "prairiemaid" from Manitoba.
• Gooseberry liqueur. In the 1930s, Meltis of Bedford introduced a gooseberry liqueur sweet to the UK market which was a big success, so they say. Read Anton Chekov's Gooseberries. I don't have a recipe.
• Currants. Make cassis; here's a cassis recipe, from " The Cook and the Gardener" by Amanda Hesser, A Year of Recipes and Writings from the French Countryside.
• Blueberries. Freeze the berries first, then make blueberry liqueur.. Ex-Michigander Culinaria Eugenius has a photo of the red-purple liquid that results.

Enough for now.

2008 Strawberry season field report, SE Michigan

I went strawberry picking with the boys on Father's Day at Rowe's Produce Farm in Rawsonville, about a mile s. of the Rawsonville Road exit between Ypsilanti and Calder Dairy. Mmmm.

Some notes to self for next year:

Bring more water! Picking in the hot sun is hot, and you get dried out fast. I should have had a gallon with me.

Make sure you have sunglasses and a good hat! I felt pretty sun-bleached afterwards.

Go out as early as you can, so it's not so hot and the sun is not so bright.

We made a field trip to the Otisville Cemetery south of Belleville, where I have some ancestors buried - there's a story to that settlement that I haven't figured out yet, it's a pleasant but nondescript spot in a rural area with graves from the 1840s-1900s. Some bits of family history are in the Carpenter-Hope section of a Belleville city history.

CARPENTER-HOPE
John and Lucy Carpenter, one of Van Buren's pioneering family raised a family of four girls one their farm land on Martinsville Road. Their daughter, Angeline M. married to Richard Hope and moved into a home located at 187 Main Street in Belleville. Daughter, Matilda, married Jenx Pullen and moved into a home located on Martinsville Road. Mary Jane married Woodbury Clark, and lived in one of the Clark residences. Lucy married George Quirk. A descendant of the Hope family , named Margaret later wrote that the property located at 187 Main Street, was the site of the 1886 Soldiers and Sailors Encampment.
Margaret Hope was born April 9, 1876, the daughter of Richard and Angeline (Carpenter) Hope. Her father, Richard was born in Detroit in 1844 and came to Belleville with his parents, John and Joanne (Winkleman) Hope, sometime in the 1850's. John Hope served as Treasurer in 1859 and Justice of the Peace in 1868. By 1875 he had changed his occupation from blacksmith to cobbling boots and shoes.
Richard Hope built his home at 187 Main Street about 1880. He and his wife, Angeline had previously resided in a backhouse behind the home of William Warren. Richard worked as a drover, a livestock buyer, and was the proprietor of a meat market. He later owned a second farm on Sumpter Road and served as Belleville's Drain Commissioner in 1894/95.
Richard Hope died on November 19, 1901 at that age of 57, killed at the Wabash RailRoad crossing on Sumpter Road, as he traveled to his farm. He and his wife had, had 2 children, Louis, who later moved to Texas and married, where he had a son named, Stewart. When Louis passed away, his son, Stewart came back to Belleville and was raised by Margaret Hope.
Margaret, moved with her parents to their home at 374 Main Street when she was 4 years old. She worked in many local community occupations such as teacher and secretary for Henry Van Schoick Harness, Carriage, and Hardware business. She also worked at the Peoples Bank of Belleville. She also had a lifelong committment to the Belleville Grange, a local farmers group, where she worked as its secretary from 1906 to 1955. Margaret passed away in September of 1955.

Strawberries are in for the 2008 season

via arborparents, a report that strawberries are in at Rowe's Produce Farm - head there from the Rawsonville Road exit, south to Martz Rd between Ypsi and Belleville.

Price of strawberries is $1.43/lb.

www.rowesproducefarm.com

UPDATE: Peas too!

Hello Rowe's Produce Farm customers,

SUGAR SNAP PEAS ARE NOW READY TO BE PICKED!!!!!

We opened our first field of sugar snap peas for picking today and they are LOADED. Now is the time to pick!

The price of the peas is the same as last season, $16.00 per bushel, $9.00 per half bushel, $5.00 per peck basket or if you just want a few they are $1.25 per pound.

Strawberries picking is fantastic now also so don't wait too long to get in on this years fun!

We are hoping the English peas and Chinese pea pods will be ready this weekend. We will keep you informed.

Thank you and have a very berry day!

Rowe's

Strawberry and pea picking: Rowe's Produce Farm, Ypsilanti MI

Saul and I went this morning. As of 6/23/07 it's nearing the end of the strawberry picking season - there are still plenty of berries to be picked, but there are also some mooshy ones and you should look under the leaves for best results. We picked two quarts in no time flat.

They also have peas for the picking - we picked a peck of podded peas pretty promptly, and right now it's a great time for pea picking.

I twittered out a "going berry picking" status message and ended up seeing Derek Mehraban there with his family.

The farm is Rowe's Produce Farm, which is in Ypsi Twp. Exit I-94, go south on Rawsonville Road to Martz Road, turn right and it's on your left 1/4 mile down clearly marked. Phone (734) 482-8538 ahead of time for conditions and hours - they were open 7am-8pm when I called. Get on their mailing list. The web site includes a photo essay of picking strawberries.

Raspberries are due in late July.

Technorati Tags: annarbor, ypsilanti, belleville, rawsonville, michigan, u-pick, strawberries, peas, raspberries, june, berrypicking

Clusty search for mobiles / strawberry picking, Ann Arbor

I've been collecting links to mobile versions of web sites; they are appearing more frequently, and the results are getting better all the time.

The latest one to try is Clusty mobile search, which is built on top of the Clusty search engine, which in turn is a clustering tool on top of a few other 2d tier (Ask) and 3d tier (never heard of them) search engines.

It certainly returns different search results than Google - not random, not always great but often good, and interesting enough to warrant a try.

Clusty's claim to fame is its clustering; e.g. if you search for "strawberry picking Ann Arbor", you get 4 compact search text results plus links to results grouped in clusters of Ann Arbor, Michigan; Picture; Blog; Music; Member; Restaurant; Movies; Books. Clicking through any of those shows results in that cluster only. If you have used Flickr's clustering tools it will be familiar.

The right answer, by the way, is not found on page one of this or any other search results on the net I have found. The word on the street is that the best place to pick berries around Ann Arbor this year is Rowe's Produce Farm in Ypsi south of the Rawsonville Road exit. My informant Katrina writes

We picked strawberries this morning at Rowe's on Martz Road (just off
Rawsonville Road). The picking was good too. I don't believe they are
organic though.

More local strawberry info on Arborwiki. Kitchen Chick picks at Rowe's too, and provides this strawberry chocolate shortcake recipe.

Technorati Tags: clusty, search, mobile, annarbor, strawberries, recipe, kitchenchick, arborwiki, chocolate