We will be back open tomorrow Saturday July 15. Picking will be very good at the beginning of the day – later, you will have to look under the leaves and on the lower canes. Not as many berries ripened as one would expect during the two days we were closed, due to the relatively cool weather.
We will open up cherries for picking, but frankly they will be better in a week when they are bigger and riper. You will notice a white clay residue on the cherries from a recent spray for SWD (Spotted Wing Drosophila). The clay residue is harmless, but we recommend washing the fruit before using.
SWD is an Asian fruit fly that arrived in the US a few years ago and threatens many small fruits. Unlike the apple insect pests we deal with which have 1 or 2 generations per season, the SWD reproduces in a few days so that multiple generations can expand exponentially.
To control this pest, we have to spray for it weekly. As a pick your own farm, we only use low impact sprays that can be applied within a day of harvest. We monitor the fruit for SWD and hope to be able to continue to grow raspberries and cherries. Fortunately, SWD does not attack apples. Fruit growing has many challenges and we do everything possible to provide safe quality fruit.
