An Asparagus Lover says…
Last Big Planting!
2013 Blueberry Outlook
As I write this note, we are awaiting our third major snowstorm for 2013. You won’t find me complaining because I am thrilled over having the much needed moisture. Our main irrigation pond was reduced to 5 feet of water (normally about 2 times that deep) last year. I then switched to our back up pond and sucked it down about 5 feet. I was amazed that over the winter, especially after the last snow storms and rains, both ponds are full! I am very thankful. Another thing that I’m thankful for is for the extended cold (please don’t be angry with me). This is really good news for all of us who raise fruit crops. Maybe we will not have to deal with frost after everything is bloomed out like the last few years.
I think it is really shaping up to be a good growing year (that’s the good news) The problem is we are still reeling from the effects of drought and stem blight disease from 2012.
About 10 % of our bushes died and probably another 20% have been affected to where they didn’t have good bud set. We also had to prune pretty heavily so as to invigorate the languishing bushes. This further reduces the crop. So, sad to say, we will be limited on the amount of berries we have this year. I will keep everyone abreast as harvest time approaches as to how many berries we will actually have. We do have 800 new plants coming to finish off the final two zones. Some of those will be replacements for the plants we pulled up last year.
Blueberry Bob
1{A Psalm of David.} Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits (Psalm 103)
Posted in Uncategorized
Almost Spring Update
Happily, spring is just a couple weeks away. It doesn’t much look like it, since we’ve been inundated in the past two weeks with an accumulation of 18 inches or so of snow–which we are NOT prepared for here in Northeast Missouri! Last week three of us were stranded in town for the night simply because the small amount of new snow drifted so badly on Lost Branch Way that my dad even got stuck in our four wheel drive truck! We are very grateful for the moisture, though, since the drought last summer really depleted our water supply.
The primary location for the 2013 Missouri Blueberry School was moved to town, as the snow was too bad out here. It went very well, however, and many brave people came out to practice pruning some of our blueberry bushes amid the drifts of snow.
Below is my dad giving his talk during the blueberry school, along with Patrick Byers, a University of Missouri Extension horticulture specialist.
Another pic of the pets is in order. We saw this this morning and had to document it…
It really is a love-hate relationship!
The lambs are still coming. ”My” black sheep had twins yesterday! I saw she had a white one, so I went outside to investigate. Seeing a mostly white exactly-like-a-Katahdin lamb was kinda disappointing after all my speculations as to what a black Finn/Romanov crossed with mostly white Katahdins was going to look like. But, I was then delighted to watch the birth of this:
So cute!
Like Mother, like daughter.
And she is turning out to be a pretty good Mother, thankfully, since I had heard that her breed might not be too good at lambing.
Mama is keeping a wary eye on the black thing that makes weird noises and flashes.
Join us for the 2013 Missouri Blueberry School!
Sponsored by the University of Missouri Extension, Missouri State University, and the Missouri Department of Agriculture Specialty Crops Block Grant program, the Winter Blueberry Management Workshop will be held at our farm on Friday, March 1, 2013, from 9 AM to 5 PM.
From the flyer:
“Join the Missouri Blueberry School for a hands-on workshop that focuses on blueberry planting managment, pruning, weed control, disease management, and food safety. Bring your pruners, appropriate outdoor clothing, and your questions!
Workshop location:
Lost Branch Blueberry Farm

Pre-registration is required to attend the workshop and is $20 per person, which includes lunch, refreshments, and educational materials. The workshop will be limited to 30 participants. Please pre-register by February 26 by contacting the Adair County Extension Center at 660-665-9866 or email schutter@missouri.edu.“
Posted in Uncategorized
Dog Friends (Plus one cat)
As I come back up to the house after documenting the mulching of the asparagus patch with pictures, I am greeted by this adorable picture of canine (and feline) cuteness.
Camilla (more often known as Her Highness) has persistently earned the right to be up in the front yard with the dogs by enduring their habit of ignoring her one minute, chasing her out of reach the next, and showing her all sorts of other undesirable attention.
The dogs are absolutely in love with their favorite blue squeaky toy, and it rarely fails to be brought to our attention upon almost every occasion of us being outdoors for any length of time. It was originally Edmond’s favorite, but Sadie (the yellow one, who is Ed’s mother) has also adopted it and tries to show Ed that she is the one really in charge of it and everything else. In fact, recently the blue toy mysteriously disappeared for about a week, and then just as mysteriously resurfaced. We have reason to believe Sadie thought things were getting a little out of hand with her son and decided to confiscate it to reveal her absolute authority over such matters. (She has been known to bury things.)
The dogs see that I present a prime opportunity to play fetch (Ed’s favorite) or keep-away (Sadie’s favorite), while Highness observes the proceedings from a safe distance.
Wow, a certain blue thing can really earn you some focused attention!
Posted in Farm Animals, Other Pictures
Update
Here the guys are on a January Saturday morning, working in the asparagus patch. (Little as it looks like one at this time of year.)
The idea is to mulch between the plants, using cardboard boxes, in an effort to squelch the ever encroaching weeds. (The little sand piles are just to hold the cardboard down.)
From the east side of the asparagus patch, you can see that, before it got freezing cold, we started piling wood-chip mulch along the sides of the new blueberry rows, in which we hope to plant several hundred more blueberries this spring. We’re just hoping to get a jump on the process of mulching by having some of it done before the young plants arrive.
And this is a picture of the havoc wreaked by the disease outbreak triggered (as we think) by drought stress last summer. This picture is in Zone 1 (the oldest plants on the farm). You can see there is a significant swathe of plants that are gone, cut down to their base. We are hoping some of them will sprout back up again this spring. Zone 2 sustained significant damage as well.
Winter Babies

Yes, our farm has been graced with the presence of four lambs within the past few weeks. In spite of their unintentional arrival at such an early date, they seem to be thriving even in the cold. The rest are set to arrive in February…due to a final escape of the rams last fall.
Posted in Farm Animals, Pictures of our Farm
Announcement
Hi everyone, just wanted to let you all know that we are now on Facebook and Google+! Spread the word and keep in touch!




















