A Decade (plus 1) of Progress
Our first farm purchase - a strawberry planter! June 2009
I was flipping through my journal awhile back and came across entries from my 2009 self. We had recently purchased our strawberry planter and many plans were being made for our first ever strawberry patch. For as long as I could remember, I wanted to grow strawberries like my grandparents. And it was finally happening! We learned a lot with our first little patch. We tested out varieties and found some we loved, and some we didn’t. We had our first crop failure in 2012 when a late frost took every bloom. I couldn’t even find enough for Nick to make a pie. In 2012, we moved from our small patch at the house (now asparagus and blackberries live there) to the larger space across the road. Naturally, that year with thousands of baby plants and no formal irrigation set up, it didn’t rain a drop. We filled a 500 gallon tank with water and used hoses to water each and every plant. Nick figured out a more formal irrigation system and everything arrived and after hours of getting drip tape down and everything hooked up, we turned it on….only to have the first measurable rain in months come a few hours later. We’ve continued making improvements to our business here and there, some the public would notice, and others to make our own lives easier. And in 2020, we took the biggest leap we’ve made yet. We built two high tunnels to expand our growing season. We’ve been listening to sessions at conferences for years and I’d been saying to anyone who’d listen “wouldn’t it be so cool if…” So in the middle of a pandemic and the same year of our most heartbreaking crop failure, we decided to turn lemons into lemonade. Strawberry lemonade. It’s been an adventure and a steep learning curve to learn a new way of producing my favorite fruit! But who doesn’t love a fresh strawberry in April?! It turns out there was far more to my little idea than I thought!
Our two high tunnel supplies were delivered in July 2020.
Step 1: Call Dad. Step 2: Enjoy Dad Daughter bonding time with power tools and truss assembly in 90 degree heat.
Next up: driving the posts.
Trusses fit onto posts and hip boards going up.
In a perfect world, the tunnel would be complete before we planted. But nothing about 2020 was perfect so we planted and continued construction. Plugs and plastic is a new production system for us with new varieties as well as production techniques.
Lesson learned: When they say no wind on the day of the plastic going on… they mean NO WIND. Second piece of plastic went on without a problem.
It was a happy day when the end walls were complete and the tunnel was fully functional! Happy warm strawberry plants in winter!
If one tunnel is good….two tunnels are better! Now we can offer other fresh produce goodies like cabbage, broccoli, etc during berry season!
Berries all tucked in for a February cold snap.
Row above are plants haven’t been pruned. Lower plants pruned and ready for spring growth.
Eye spy with my little eye a berry beautiful bloom in March!
Blooms just coming out in droves!
Waiting somewhat impatiently for some to turn red!
First a handful!
Finally enough to share!
Row crops, cattle, asparagus, strawberries, and now high tunnel production that allows us to expand the season, with more exciting changes coming - have all allowed us to grow and diversify our family farm. It’s a labor of love. A passion. And I am so grateful for each one of you that have allowed us to raise berries, produce, and beef for you! I’m proud of our decade (plus 1) of strawberries and I’m excited for what the next decade will bring!
Hope to see you at the patch (and high tunnels)!