This week we are partnering with a local blueberry farm, Blue Paradise Farm in Covert, MI, that is in the process of converting to Organic. What does it take to transition blueberries?
1. The plants have to be weaned off chemical fertilizers- the cost of organic replacement for chemical fertilizers is roughly 3 to 1 until you can get soil health to the place where you can reduce the overall macronutrient requirement.
2. Weed control for organic production requires special equipment, more hand labor, and mowing practices to keep the plants from being engulfed in weeds.
3. The cost of organically approved pest control is about 10x the cost of conventional, which means that in order to run a successful Organic blueberry business, the operator must use the minimum applications of products, which means that he must be very aware of problem areas and address them separately and immediately.
With that said, we love the idea of helping bring local and organic blueberries to all of you, for now and in the future. Help us to support this new farm and buy a bulk box or 2 for your family! Freeze em, cook em, eat em fresh, and enjoy!
On our farm we are excited to have lots of yummy tomatoes cranking out of our greenhouse, but we have to report that we unfortunately lost quite a bit of crop to flooding. Potatoes, onions, beets, zucchini, squash, beans and sweet corn were all affected. Yields will take a big hit but we will do our best to care for the remaining crops. For fear of sounding like a grumpy old farmer, Ill try not to complain, as we truly are blessed with many lovely crops. But, hail, flooding, herbicide drift.... what's next?
Thank you for your support!
Paul
P.S. please remember to return your boxes & don’t forget to add a flower bouquet this week!
