Dear KCSA community,
It was a pretty bad call by me in last week's newsletter to have the strawberries remain on the u-pick list. Obviously, the fresh, tender berries found it tough with the excess rain and unseasonable hailstorm the week before last. They will return to u-pick this week, but with a tentative pint limit. Please stick to the limits. All full and partial share members have a share of the u-pick.
The new succession is coming in. Members, please be careful when picking in the new section as the plants are more susceptible to unnecessary roughness! Please hold on to the plant as you pluck the berry, so you don't uproot the plant or damage it. This new succession will be where the early flush is next year! The math is simple. The more plants that survive 2020, the more berries there will be in 2021.
Berry growing can be a little fickle. As us biodynamic farmers know, there are good years and bad years. This goes for most fruits. I've been told by a credible source that berry yields are down in the locale and even conventional farmer's prices have risen sharply this year for them to be able to make ends meet.
Now, that's not to say we are having a particularly bad berry year ourselves. The second succession is a little slow in coming in and they should continue to produce for a while yet. But it ain't as good as last year, that's for sure!
The varieties are the same, the planting schedule was almost to the day and we have weeded and cultivated them more than ever before. As you will see this week, they really do look immaculate! You have our staff and workshares to thank for that!
Another quick tip for members, unlike tomatoes, strawberry don't ripen off the vine. Please only pick the ripest ones!
Cheers,
Andrew
