Beilke Family Farm

Friday afternoon update......not much left

2011-12-16T15:13:00.000-08:00

After many pickers this morning
Not much left
About the only apple left is the Pink Lady and they are small

Sunday is the last day

2011-12-16T12:01:00.000-08:00

Sunday, December 18 is the last day for apples this year.

They are still free.
There are a few Braeburn and Granny Smith left.
Not so many Gold Rush.
There are still plenty of Pink Lady left, but they are smaller in size.

It has been an interesting year. Probably our best quality apples yet.
Our weather system causing all farm crops including apples to be 2 and 3 weeks late.
The dryest December so far in recorded history. We have never picked apples after Thanksgiving ever.
This is our first ever free apple giveaway. We are glad you are able take advantage of this. We were also able to give away 40,000 lbs of apples to Salem Harvest and they distributed them out to Marion Polk food share and others.

Next for us is to start pruning the trees, which is very labor intensive.
Then apply some Lime to keep the soil pH up.
Then an organic copper spray for healthy trees to protect against disease.
Many of the products we use are also used in organic crops.

Check back with us to follow our other crops next summer.
Then we will see you in late August for another apple crop year.
We will post when they are ready next year.

Grandpa will be 92 years old by then, and hopefully still out driving the Gator around the farm.

Free is a very good price

2011-12-09T12:14:00.000-08:00

It is December.

We still have apples on the trees

Granny Smith, Braeburn, Gold Rush, and Fuji

The rows are labeled

Come and pick however much you want, they are free.

The only stipulation is you give some to your neighbors.

Apple Update

2011-12-05T10:05:00.000-08:00

I just drove through the apple orchard to see what is left.

We have plenty of Granny Smith left- just head down to the far end of the row to find them.

We have some Gold Rush left, also head down to the far end of the rows.

We also have some Braeburn and tons of smaller sized Pink Lady left. I like to think of them as kid-friendly sized :)

Everything else is done.

Still Open! And Salem Harvest came today!

2011-12-03T18:37:00.000-08:00

We had a big harvest today but there are lots of apples left I am told. So we are changing our mind about this Saturday being the last to come pick! We will stay open until the weather turns nasty.

Here is what was going on today:

Since it was nearing the end of the year and the weather is sure to turn to rainy and cold, we had Salem Harvest come out and pick some of our apples. It was a great turnout!
I've included some pictures of the day!

How it works is that each person that signs up with Salem Harvest gets to keep half of what they pick and the other half is donated to the Marion Polk Food Share. I guess they harvest all kinds of crops.

Here is the check in line. Everyone has already signed up ahead of time and only those people are let in the field. Salem Harvests coordinates it all!

So many apples were picked that all the bins were filled by the first round of pickers! There were 2 sessions and they still had the 2nd to go!

Loading up the truck!

Happy picker :)

And a great helper!

Last Day to Pick Apples is Saturday. (Possibly)

2011-11-30T22:00:00.000-08:00

If you want to come pick apples one last time, make sure to come before Saturday is over!!

We are having a big group come in to pick apples this Saturday so possibly the apples will be all gone after that day. The big group is starting to pick at 9am and finishing at 4pm. I would definitely come by early afternoon if you want some apples just in case they end up all being picked. It will be busy on Saturday too so if that doesn't sound fun to you, then come Friday!

We will post again after the Saturday picking to give another update whether there are apples left, just in case you are desperate for more!

Thank you so much for all who came out this year! It was a good year for apples and for that we are thankful! It was fun to see all the families with kids, people from out of town and for some people it was their first time! What fun!

still open , apples available

2011-11-22T18:13:00.000-08:00

Winter is finally here. A bit wet out there.

Granny Smith, Braeburn, and Gold Rush are good fall apples

If you need some apples and it is too wet for you, we have a few buckets of picked apples in the garage by the office. They are $2 extra for already picked apples. It is still more fun to enjoy the "real apple experience" and pick your own.

Thank you for the fun year of apples.

We will post when we are totally done for the year.

Yes we are still open!!

2011-11-10T13:53:00.000-08:00

We still have plenty of apples available and all are very yummy and beautiful! Plenty of kinds left except for Honeycrisp and Gala.

We will probably still be open for at least 2 more weeks I would guess if not more, but keep checking back because we will let you know when we are closed for the season.

Come out today. It is SO beautiful!

Pink Lady is ready!

2011-11-07T17:34:00.000-08:00

Pink Lady apples are ready!! They are the last apple to ripen in our orchard so come get them!
We still have almost ALL the varieties of apples that can still be picked. Although the Gala apples are fewer in number and the Honey crisp are nearly gone.
If you still want a Winter supply of apples, please come get them within the next two weeks.
We should have a good apple supply until the middle of the month at least.............

We also have WE-PICK buckets of apples available for $10 each. Just call and say what varieties you'd like and how many and we can pick them for you. Or we will also have a selection in front of the office ready.
Great option for if it's cold and rainy, or if you're unable to get around easily.

Still plenty of apples on the farm available for picking!!!!!

2011-11-04T11:17:00.000-07:00

Granny Smith are now ready.

2011-10-26T14:51:00.000-07:00

Granny Smith just came ripe.
Great for making pies and for those that like a tart apple!...Especially good dipped in caramel!

Checked the Pink Lady and they are not quite ripe....maybe another week. I will let you know when they are.

Still have plenty of other apples still available that are super yummy! Jonagold, Golden Delicious, Melrose, Red Delicious, Braeburn, Cameo and Rome.

Honeycrisp and Gala are about gone but if you really want some, you can probably find some if you look.

Best time to come for a wide selection!!

2011-10-20T10:58:00.000-07:00

Right now is when we have the widest selection of apples! If you like to mix apples in your bucket, come now! Fuji, Braeburn and Cameo just came ripe, but there are also tons of perfectly ripe Jonagold, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Honeycrisp and Gala.

Plus looking outside the weather is beautiful!!

FINALLY Fuji and Braeburn apples are READY!!

2011-10-14T19:06:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Beilke checked the Fuji and Braeburn apples today and
he says they are ready to be picked! It does seem like it has taken
forever to get them there but finally they are!

Open 7 days a week....Dawn to Dusk

2011-10-04T15:31:00.000-07:00

Jonagold: Above

Walking around the Jonagold and Golden Delicious yesterday...the apples are BEAUTIFUL and a nice large size. The Jonagolds above are all the way to the back of the orchard near the railroad tracks on the south side. Lots left!! Get them while they are available!!

Golden Delicious: Above

what beats the taste of a crispy apple ?

2011-10-01T09:38:00.000-07:00

This crop is probably our best Quality we have ever grown. The apples look good.

Come taste one.

Bring your camera, enjoy the day

Gala
JonaGold
RubyMac
HoneyCrisp
Rome Beauty
Melrose

Make this your farm day.

I met a farmer from Saskatchewan,Canada, he had come down to pick apples with his daughter. He farms 5000 acres. I couldn't imagine that. He raises wheat and Lentels. He farms all this with only two people.
I asked him if it is flat land up there in Saskatchewan.
He said it is so flat, you can watch your dog run away for three days.

GALA and HONEYCRISP are now ready!

2011-09-14T14:39:00.000-07:00

The Gala and Honeycrisp are both ready!!

Pick the apples that have more red on them, and you'll be picking the riper ones.

We have a row of Honeycrisp that are especially beautiful. Ask specifically for them, but they won't last long. The row is in a different place than the main two rows. We will have a large white sign directing you to them or just ask.

The Jonagolds will probably be ready in a week or two. We will post when they are ready.

Gala Apples ready at this time. . . .

2011-09-03T16:11:00.000-07:00

Gala Apples are ready now, but just barely ripe.
You may need to keep them for a week in your garage to ripen them up the last bit. .

\Remember, all crops are 2 - 3 weeks late in the Willamette Valley this year.
With our cool spring, we just do not have the heat units to ripen the crops as fast as a normal year.
" heat units" that is how farmers measure timelines for crops now days.
We can predict when insects emerge, and when to fertilize, etc.

Also we do not at this time have a VISA machine this year. Please come prepared with cash or check instead. Thanks!!

Baby Silas has arrived!

2011-08-30T20:23:00.000-07:00

Yes this is our U-pick apple blog but we couldn't resist sharing the news!

Our little guy, Silas is here! He came early on Aug 25th...happy and healthy.
Just thought I would share our good news and a picture or two!

But also starting tomorrow we are open for Red Gravenstein! They make great pies.

Red Gravenstein are ready to pick on Wednesday (Aug 31st)

2011-08-29T10:32:00.000-07:00

The Red Gravenstein are ready to pick on Wednesday!

Still $8 per bucket....about 22 lbs in a bucket. We have buckets to pick into, just bring boxes or bags to bring your apples home!

Hours 8am-8pm 7 days a week.

We are hoping to get the Gravenstein row marked better for you so you can find it. It is on the south end of the orchard. One half of the row is Red Delicious and if you keep walking south, you will see the trees get a bit bigger and those are the Gravenstein. You will see apples on the ground below the trees.

Hope that helps!

Working away....

2011-08-16T08:48:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the blog hiatus. I was having problems with it but with help, it now works!! Thank you to my brother!

Update on Apples: Apples are not yet ready but getting closer. Tried a Gravenstein yesterday and they are still a little too firm and tart. Those will be the first to be ready so I am thinking another week or two. I will post when they are ready. The next apples after that will be Honeycrisp and Gala.

I will be doing a better job updating the blog, especially since it is apple season. Although I am due to have a baby Sept 2nd so I'll have to con it off onto someone else for awhile :) My hope is that we will be updating every Thursday or Friday so you will know what is going on before the weekend. If apples come ready during the week, we will also update then.

Other than that, we are more than halfway finished with blueberry harvest. Our beans are getting picked today and we finished wheat and grass seed harvest last week. We still have some vegetable and flower seed fields to harvest later in the season, and also corn.
So we are keeping busy but not out of control :)

Young blueberry field.

What we've been up to.....

2011-07-10T19:11:00.000-07:00

Beans being irrigated.

Our earliest blueberries are starting to ripen up. Maybe start picking sometime this week. They are much later this year than last year because of all the cool weather. Actually all the crops are that way. It was weird not harvesting anything over the 4th of July weekend.

Radish crop, also grown for seed. These are the big pods that produce the seed. We hope they keep getting bigger and bigger.

This is a flower field grown for seed. We have to keep it really clean of weeds so we have cultivated it several times...teeth that drag through the soil and pull up the weeds. Then we have also hand weeded it 2x. And I'm sure we will have to do it again.

Week of Nov 8th

2010-11-10T10:46:00.000-08:00

Still plenty of winter apples out there....Granny Smith, Gold Rush, Braeburn and Pink Lady.

There are a few Honeycrisp out there but really those are about done.

A few Golden Delicious left if look in the older part of the orchard...right behind the shop. There are lots of Red Delicious out there still.

If you come for Pink Lady, walk down toward the end of the row. Lots left on the last 1/3 of the row.

We are open until around 5:30pm now since it gets dark so early. We will also be open this weekend.

Apple Update: Week of Nov 1st...Pink Lady Ready!

2010-11-01T08:05:00.000-07:00

Granny Smith

Cameo

We are expecting to be open through the 2nd or 3rd week of Nov.
Normally we are about done this time of year but the winter apples became ripe later this year. Just keep coming until you read the post that we are closed! :)

Things in the orchard are pretty much the same as last week.

Three changes:

Pink Lady are FINALLY ready :) We always wait impatiently for them since they are the last apple of the season to be ready.

Jonagold and Fuji are pretty much done. There are some out there if you want to hunt but they are getting pretty rough looking. It's a shame though because the Jonagold are so darn good :)

The Melrose are all gone too if I didn't already say that last week. One thing I learned recently about Melrose is they are a cross between Red Delicious and Jonathon apples. Who knew!? It's seems like a funny combo because people seem to LOVE Jonathon apples....but then Red Delicious have a bit of a bad rap because they are usually grainy and yucky at the grocery stores. Just thought it was a bit of a strange combo but really it worked out well, because I really like Melrose.

What we have been up to this summer....

2010-10-29T11:55:00.000-07:00

This is just a collage of all we have been up to this summer. All the crops are harvested now besides apples so "winter" has officially began.

In the winter, we make a winter list of everything we need to repair or improve on our equipment. We do a lot of work in the shop, go to many classes to update our spray license, or just education classes in general. I also try to do one big organization/clean up project on the farm in a certain area. With having a farm that does so many different things, we have a lot of stuff sitting around.

So anyway, enjoy the pictures!

We don't raise cauliflower but I thought the plants looked cool, so I thought I would share.

Corn Picker

Spinach Seed field dried, ready to harvest.

Wheat harvest

Spinach Seed field

Below is a cabbage seed field....Bok Choy actually. Before the seeds set, it was a beautiful bright yellow all across the field.

Corn Sprout Germinating

2010-10-29T11:39:00.000-07:00

Update, Monday Oct 25th: Gold Rush and Rome are now ready!

2010-10-25T08:48:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are diehards, there are still plenty of apples out there. It may be rainy and a bit windy but isn't that the fun of picking apples!? Then you get to take them to your warm house and have the whole house smell like apples and cinnamon!

So here is what is going on out in the orchard:

If you're looking for golden delicious, there are lots on the older trees behind the shop. The apples trees are not organized in the older trees but it can be kind of fun because everything in that section is ready now. It's an easy way to get a good mixture of apples without a lot of effort.

Granny Smith are just now ready this last week so there is lots to choose from and they are looking very nice.

Gold Rush are just now ready. They are a smaller size apple that stores well, and I'm told if you cut into them they resist browning. They are similar looking to a Golden Delicious but a bit smaller.

Braeburns are looking good. Plenty out there. There is one new baby row that has lots and the rest are in the southwest corner of the orchard. You will see them right by the road when you drive in.

Still some Fujis out there. Driving through the older part of the orchard, I discovered a beautiful Fuji tree....ask me if you want those and I'll take you there! There are still some Fujis on the long rows too. Just be willing to walk down aways.

Still some Honeycrisp and Red Delicious out there.

Still lots of Jonagold too!

Rome are ready now too. Good for cooking. A beautiful bright red apple.

Melrose are practically almost gone but there are a few.

Most all apple rows are now getting to the point where you have to walk at least halfway down.

See you in the rain!

She is an "official" farmer now!

2010-10-19T08:06:00.000-07:00

Becky has been working here during apple season for the last 3 years. I'm sure you've met her if you've been her lately.

She officially graduated to "farmer status" yesterday. She now owns 2 of her very own farmer hats! I have included one of the pictures of her with her new hat! Free advertising for Wilco :) ha! She also has a bright green John Deere hat. Very exciting day for her. You guys will have to give her a hard time. I am sure I am embarrassing her right now but that is the best part! Love you Becky!

We also had 6-8th graders come out from a school in Tigard a few weeks ago. Took them on the apple orchard tour and made apple cidar.

And we had the 3rd graders from Brooks School. They all happily got their apples!

Cameos, Granny Smith and Braeburn are ready

2010-10-18T10:14:00.000-07:00

Cameos, Granny Smith, Braeburn are ready now!

Here is what www.americancameo.com said about Cameos:

"It used to be that red apples were all the rage. In fact, growers actually got paid for color — the redder they could make the apple, the more money they made.

Trouble was, getting apples red resulted in thick, tough skin and soft, mealy flesh. People that love apples for their taste and crunch were not happy with the poor quality. And they said so loud and clear, by simply not buying red apples.

Cameo growers got the message loud and clear. So, instead of growing for color, they grew an apple specifically for taste and crunch. By toning down the red, they were able to keep the skin very thin, the flavor sweet yet tart, and the flesh very crunchy."

There is also a friendly disagreement between us if the Braeburns are ready. :) One says yes, and one says no. So I will go try them out again and report back!
Ok 15 minutes later....the verdict...The Braeburns are still pretty firm but have a good flavor underneath. I think if you were eating it by the slice they would be very tasty but biting into them I'd wait another week. So that's the best I can tell you :) It is especially a good time to pick them if you are planning on storing them though.

Gold Rush are getting close but not quite ready.

Pink Lady aren't ready yet either. They are always the last apple to be ready.

Going to be a nice week to come pick!

Ruby Jons

2010-10-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

Ruby Jons have all been picked.

Red Delicious are ready now also. These ones actually have a crunch to them unlike the ones you buy at the store!

Apples coming up next are: Cameo, Rome, Braeburn, Granny Smith.

And don't forget about drying some apples to eat all year round!

New Apple Ready!

2010-10-05T10:06:00.000-07:00

Fujis are ready! (Editing this: Fujis are ready if you are picking them to keep for quite awhile. If you want to eat them right this minute, I would wait a bit longer.)

I have never been that impressed with Fujis because they have such a unexciting outside...not real colorful. But I just took a bite of one for the first time in a long time and I was very surprised. They are GOOD! So I guess I learned, don't judge an apple by the outside!

Drove around the orchard this morning checking out all the apples. Just a hint...the farther you walk, the better apples you will find! Some rows from the beginning look like there is nothing left, but once you get down to the last 1/4 of the row, there are lots.

See you soon.

Update

2010-10-04T07:52:00.000-07:00

Not much new to post.

Still lots of apples left.

Available to pick:

Honeycrisp
Jonagold
Melrose
More Golden Delicious
Ruby Jon

Beautiful weather!!

Another apples is ripe.

2010-09-22T07:43:00.000-07:00

Ruby Macs are all gone for the year.

Ruby Jon is ready now. They look just like the Ruby Macs--beautiful red, but a little different taste.

Still have all the other varieties available that were mentioned in earlier posts.

Apple Variety Info

2010-09-21T16:14:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder what you can do with a specific variety of apple beside eat it? Click the link below to see a list of the apples we have and some of their uses!

Apple Variety Info

Update

2010-09-17T07:26:00.000-07:00

Ok I was mistaken!! There are still half a row of Ruby Macs so come NOW if you want them! They won't last long because they seem to be a favorite.

Still plenty of Honeycrisp, Gala, Jonagold, Golden Delicious and Melrose left.

Melrose Ready.

2010-09-15T09:43:00.000-07:00

Melrose are ready. We have one young row of Melrose and many Melrose trees scattered in the bigger, older tree section of the orchard. We'll have to take you out and show you those probably.

Melrose are a good cooking apple, but also are quite tasty for just eating.

Finally some pictures!

2010-09-15T08:19:00.000-07:00

Finally some pictures! Check the next oldest post for what apples are ready now.

Two Rows of Jonagold Ready!

2010-09-13T09:45:00.000-07:00

Two Rows of Jonagold are ready now. The 2 rows are closest to the railroad tracks on the north side of the orchard. Nice big apples. These rows are always ready earlier than the others.

Just found out that the RubyMac row is ready now too. It's a young row so if you really want them, I'd come soon before they are gone.
(Someone called today asking if they were ready and we told you, "Not Yet." Sorry we were wrong!)

Also still have the part row of Golden Delicious and tons of Honeycrisp and Gala.

Half a Row of Golden Delicious are Ready

2010-09-09T16:29:00.001-07:00

For some reason, part of a Golden Delicious row is always ready early. They are beautiful too so come before they are gone! Just drive out back and look for a big sign that will point you to the correct Golden Delicious row.

Still have tons of Honeycrisp and Gala also.

Orchard will be closed for 2 days.

2010-09-03T07:58:00.001-07:00

The apple orchard will be closed Sat, Sept 4th and Sun, Sept 5th. We will be open Monday though if you'd like to come.

Have a good Holiday weekend!

Honeycrisp and Gala

2010-08-31T10:06:00.000-07:00

Apple Update:

The two regular rows of Honeycrisp aren't quite ready yet but we have one oddball row where every other tree is Honeycrisp....and those are perfectly ready and looking very nice. The regular rows of Honeycrisp, for a guess, will be ready in 1-2 weeks.

And where do I begin about the Galas....? We have some smaller trees that have some decent looking Red Galas that are ready now, and a few bigger old Gala trees behind the shop.
The rest of the Galas though are looking pretty bad this year. You're welcome to come check them out but they aren't pretty. Come in about a week for those.

The Jonagold will be the next apple to be ready. Give them about 2 weeks and check back on the blog for an update.

This year was a hard year on apples because of all the rain and ongoing cold spring weather. While there are some varieties that are beautiful, some varieties are hard to look at this year.

That's the life of a farmer though :)

Looking forward to seeing you all this year.

P.S. For those of you who have never been before, you should know you need to bring boxes or bags to take your apples home in. We have buckets you can pick into but please transfer the apples into your own container when you leave.

We are a working farm with many other crops to take care of so unfortunately we are in and out a lot. It is best to bring small bills, or a check just in case you can't find us for change. If someone is in the office, we also have a VISA machine. Sorry for the times that you come and we are not there. I try my best to have good signage but please give suggestions on how we can do things better! Thanks!

Gravensteins are all picked.

2010-08-17T10:09:00.001-07:00

Thanks for coming and getting the Gravenstein apples. They are all picked now. I am jealous of all the yummy pies, applesauce you are making with them!

The other apple varieties are still needing to ripen.

I will post when a new variety is ready.

Blueberries are done for the year also.

We just harvested our chinese cabbage seed (Bok Choy) yesterday so another crop is in! All we have left now is the spinach seed, which we might possibly harvest this afternoon, and the corn which we grow for a cannery. September sometime is when the corn will be harvested.

Alright better get back to work!

Red Gravenstein are ready!

2010-08-09T11:47:00.000-07:00

Looks like the Red Gravenstein are ready. Come soon before they all fall on the ground!

Gravenstein are great for baking.

We were telling people the end of August but looks like they are ready sooner than we thought.

Busy time of the year for us.

2010-08-08T19:28:00.000-07:00

Here are just some pictures of what has been happening the last week on the farm...swathed spinach seed and chinese cabbage seed, combining wheat now, harvested our green beans and continue watering our 2 fields of corn. (The combine is the big yellow machine, and the swather is the smaller red machine) The pictures of the computers are the 2 we have in our combine. They can tell us a lot of things....our yield per acre, moisture level...etc. This is our peak time here on the farm....we are putting in lots of hours right now.

Last week of the Fruit stand on 99E

2010-08-04T08:49:00.000-07:00

We should be finishing with our 3rd picking of the Bluecrop today so it may be the last day of the fruit stand...if we have a little left to pick tomorrow, then tomorrow will be the last day.

We also have 3 types of garlic for sale: Elephant, White and Red Garlic. $3/lb

We will still be picking for a few weeks after the fruit stand is closed, so call us at 503-991-7207 if you'd like to order a flat.

Thank you for all who came and enjoyed our blueberries!

Red Gravenstein apples will be available for u-pick in 2 weeks at our farm: 4925 Rockdale St NE, Brooks.

Blueberries, Blueberries and more Blueberries!!

2010-07-30T09:34:00.000-07:00

Well looks like my pictures come up as words so sorry, no pictures again :(

Blueberries are never ending it seems. We are picking our late variety, Liberty, then we start again on our 3rd picking of Bluecrop.

We are soon to be starting wheat harvest, then combining our spinach and cabbage seed. I had great pictures to show you too which is a bummer.

The corn is growing well...about knee high right now. The beans too. Can't easily walk between the rows anymore. Sounds like we will be harvesting beans before 2 weeks are over.

Our fruit stand has been open the last week. We will be open again today (Friday) but closed tomorrow (Sat) because we are out of blueberries until Monday. We will be open again on Monday. Our new hours are 12-6pm. Blueberries and 3 types of fresh garlic are available at the stand now. Cherries and Marionberries are finished for the year.

Blueberry Availability Update

2010-07-20T10:58:00.000-07:00

For those of you interested in we-pick/u-pick blueberries:

We are waiting for our blueberries to ripen again but are hoping we will have some ready by Monday for a guess. If you'd like to order some please call us at the phone number below, or look for the fruit stand to open next week.

We are planning on having the fruit stand out on 99E (1/2 mile north of Brooks) again this year when the next picking is ready. The days will be irregular because it depends on when berries are ready. We want the berries to be the freshest possible for you! We do know the hours will be 10am - 6pm when we are open, and we will have a credit/debit card available.

We also will have Sweetheart Cherries (Dark Red) Available...

If you are interested in u-picking, give us a call at 503-991-7207. $1.00/pound.

Corn, Chinese Cabbage seed and Beans

2010-07-08T07:59:00.000-07:00

Corn trying to emerge. After we planted, it rained a lot, then it got hot. Because of that, the soil formed a hard crust. The corn seed sprouts are pretty tough though and somehow usually make it through. To help it along though, we decided to give the field a little water to try to loosen the crust.

Grandpa and I making plans of what to do next in the day :)

Chinese Cabbage (Bok Choy) This we are growing for seed. This picture was taken a few weeks ago. Right now the field is absolutely beautiful. The bushes have grown taller and the whole field is solid gold.

Beans starting to grow.

We use this hard hose reel to water the corn. We try to move it twice a day when we are watering.

More pictures to come....trying to load 5 more but the computer is being stubborn right now!

We did already pick the 1st picking of our early blueberries. Next will be to pick our midseason bluberries or do the 2nd picking of the early ones. Besides than we are working on keeping everything watered...especially with these 100 degree days.

Soon it will be time to harvest wheat....a few weeks...

Summer is slowly creeping in.

2010-06-22T07:46:00.000-07:00

Blueberries are starting to turn blue so we had to put up our bird control right away. These are balloons that Noe puts up that are suppose to scare the birds. We also have a sound system to makes bird distress noises, along with stringing up a lot of metallic tape that flashes lots of light.
We also have a net that we put over 2 blueberry fields but we haven't put that up the last 2 years.

Below is a picture of a field getting planted with corn. It had wheat in in before but instead of working it up, it was planted with the no-till method. You have to be on the lookout for slugs and make sure to get them under control when you do no-till method rather than traditional.

Above is Chinese Cabbage (Bok Choy) we are raising for seed. I was over there yesterday and the field is blooming yellow! Need to take a picture of that to show you all.

And blueberries! This was a picture taken last week. I couldn't believe how much bluer they turned over the weekend! You could even find a few to eat, although still a bit sour.

This is a picture of the bird distress call system we use.

Well that's the update for now. A lot more happening than this but I need to haul my camera around with me today so I can take more pictures.

Beekeeper!

2010-05-06T10:28:00.000-07:00

Our beekeeper. Can you believe they do it with their bare hands!? Not a job I would want :)

The wheat is growing.

Here we are getting the field ready to plant spinach seed. There was a grass field here last year so we have to plow it to get all the sod out of the way.
We are growing it not for the spinach leaves itself, but the spinach seed. This is our first year doing this so we are learning a lot. Who knew that you had to plant female spinach seed, then a week later in between the female rows you have to plant male spinach seed. Then a week after that you have to plant another round of male seed.
This afternoon, since the weather is finally nice, we are planting our cabbage seed...also grown for the purposes of making more seed.

Things are starting to pick up around here.

2010-04-16T08:11:00.000-07:00

How would you like this header coming at you down the road! Actually this header is far too wide to drive down the road, so we have to take it on and off between fields and ferry it around on a trailer. It is actually a wheat header. We are working on converting it to fit on our combine.

We took out most all of our grassfields and are growing many different crops this year. Wheat, corn, beans, spinach and cabbage seed, along with blueberries and of course the u-pick apples.

Since it keeps raining so often, we are working on fixing/updating some of our equipment. As soon as the ground dries out more, we will be working up fields and getting ready for planting the crops.

We just finished fertilizing our blueberries...much earlier than normal this year. Pretty crazy. Below we are fertilizing the apples too.

Apple Blossoms.
This is the time of the year that it is most important to protect the apples from getting disease like apple scab, etc.

Next project that will need to be done in the future is thinning the apples. Once the apples are about the size of your thumb, we head out to start thinning. Some rows are especially more important to thin then other...The Gold Rush are really important to thin, otherwise there will be many many apples, but all a very small size. We thin to give the other apples more space to grow.

We also planted a brand new row of Honeycrisp. Since the Honeycrisp produce a large crop one year, and minimal to no crop the next, we are hoping this new row will produce opposite than the old rows. We would like to have Honeycrisp available every year.

I am also busy getting ready for our flower nursery to open on the 24th! The greenhouse is full of beautiful plants! We are also doing hanging baskets this year. Come check it out! M-F 9-5, Sat 10-5.

Apple Tree Pruning

2010-02-05T16:18:00.000-08:00

BEFORE (above)

AFTER (above)

We are in the middle of pruning the apples trees right now.

First we prune the sides, then we go back and prune all the shoots going straight up from the top. We like to keep the trees nice and short so we don't have to use ladders for picking.

After the pruning is done, we rake all the sticks into the middle of the row. Then we take the flail mower and mow up the sticks, going over them a couple times.

It takes 4 people about 3 1/2 weeks to get it all done.

BEFORE (above)

AFTER (above)

You can see all the branches on the ground that were cut off. That is what needs to be raked into the grass row.
Side by side shot...

Merry Christmas

2009-12-14T08:26:00.000-08:00

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone.

Apples sold out.

Thank you very much.

The winter pruning, raking, mowing, disease protection, irrigation maintenance, equipment repair and future planning begins.

Two Apple Varieties Still Available

2009-11-17T08:06:00.001-08:00

After the weekend, we have Braeburn and Gold Rush left.

The Pink Lady are all gone.

Update

2009-11-12T16:12:00.001-08:00

Looks like Granny Smith are gone.

Still have Gold Rush, Braeburn and Pink Lady.

We will also try to keep a few already picked buckets of apples up here by the office so if you come when it's raining, you can just pick up one of those. They are $2 extra, so $10 per bucket.

Bring your kids, they will love it! Show them where apples come from, not just from the grocery store shelf.

Four Varieties Still Available

2009-11-11T07:59:00.000-08:00

It's wet, wet, wet but there is still apples. Check the post below for what apples are still available.

We still have apples!

2009-11-06T08:11:00.000-08:00

Drove through the orchard this morning and we still have lots of apples!

The Gold Rush trees are still loaded once you walk halfway down.
Plenty of Pink Lady left...also walk halfway down the row to find them.
Lots of Braeburn.
There are still some Granny Smith. We have 3 rows of them. One of the rows is long and two of the rows are shorter and set back aways. If you go to the two short rows, you will find some Granny Smith apples left there.

The Red Delicious are all gone.

If you have your heart set on Golden Delicious we still have a little bit left. We'll just have to show you where to find them.

Pink Lady Ready!

2009-10-26T15:44:00.000-07:00

The Pink Lady is ready! I wait (un)patiently all apple season for these.

Pink Lady apples are beautiful....light green with a pretty pink color. Sweet, tart and crunchy.
Good for eating, pies and storing.

Lots of Gold Rush and Braeburn still.
Also Golden Delicious.
Some Granny Smith and Red Delicious.

Season is winding down but still lots of nice apples out there.

Who doesn't like picking apples in the rain anyway! It's the total fall experience!

Winter Apples Ready

2009-10-21T14:04:00.000-07:00

Granny Smith are Ready Now!

Also Lots of:
Braeburn (Winter apple, great for eating, baking and sauce too).
Gold Rush (Winter apple, great for baking, resists browning and lasts a long time in storage.)

Still have: Golden, Red Delicious.

Not many: Fuji, Jonagold, Gala, or Cameos.
No more Rome.

Still to come later: Pink Lady. Pink Lady aren't ready until the end of October. They look ready, nice green and pink but they still need to ripen. They are worth the wait though!

Granny Smith, Braeburn and Gold Rush Ready.

2009-10-06T16:46:00.001-07:00

Granny Smith are Ready Now!

Also Lots of:
Braeburn (Winter apple, great for eating, baking and sauce too).
Gold Rush (Winter apple, great for baking, resists browning and lasts a long time in storage.)

Still have: Golden, Red Delicious, Fuji.

Not many: Jonagold, Gala, or Cameos.
No more Rome.

Still to come later: Pink Lady. Pink Lady isn't ready until the end of October. They look ready, nice green and pink but they still need to ripen. They are worth the wait though!

New: Fuji, Rome, Red Delicious ready now.

2009-10-01T16:48:00.000-07:00

Two new varieties ready:
Fuji - Great for eating
Rome - Pretty red apple. Great for baking and lasts a long time in storage.
Red Delicious - Eating and salads.

Still have:

Golden Delicious - very beautiful this year!
Jonagold - my favorite!
Melrose
Gala

All the mums are showing color now!

The colors we have that are not shown in the pictures below are purple, dark red and another orange-red.

$6.00 each. If you buy 3, they are $5.00 each

We will also be selling pumpkins and sweet meat squash. I think we will be setting those out tomorrow!

U-Pick Apples are getting closer!

2009-08-17T08:41:00.000-07:00

The apples should be ready about Sept 5th so check the blog around that time and we will post for certain if it is time to pick.

The apples that are ready first are Gala and Jonagold.

Jonagold are great for cooking. They are my favorite.

Galas are great for an eating apple and I've made good applesauce with them also.

Fall is coming!

See you soon!!

P.S. Blueberries are available by special order only now. We are getting near the end of the blueberries but there is still some available. Email snofarmer@gmail.com if interested in ordering.

2009-07-08T07:37:00.000-07:00

Blueberries are ready now

varieties:

Duke, 11 acres
Bluecrop, 7 acres
U-Pick and We - Pick
Directions:
Location (1) Sales tent
from traffic light in downtown Brooks
go North 1/3 mile, Blueberry sales tent is on right, near Barn and baseball field

Location (2)
Actual field........ with We-Pick & U-Pick

from traffic light in Brooks, go east 1/8 mile on left

U-Pick is $1.10/lb

We-Picks are available in various sizes
from pints to flats

will post price comparisons with stores soon.
most stores are $3.00 to $4.00 / pound

Apples and Blueberries in bloom!

2009-04-27T08:16:00.000-07:00

The apple blooms are looking very beautiful right now!

We are redoing the apple tree grass rows to make them more smooth.

Below is one of our blueberry fields in almost full bloom!

Here we are fertilizing one of our youngest Liberty blueberry fields.

NEW- Selling Flowers and Blueberries this year

2009-02-25T09:02:00.000-08:00

Coming soon, we are selling annual flowers in the spring. "Flowers from the Farm."

To watch the whole growing process, go to www.flowersfromthefarm.blogspot.com.

We're also doing U-Pick/We-Pick Blueberries starting the end of June. Keep posted for more details.

Definitely dorment, December 2008

2009-01-04T16:18:00.000-08:00

2008-09-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

2008-09-24T07:47:00.000-07:00

Come out and have Grandpa show you the apples

2008-08-24T17:45:00.000-07:00

8 acres of U-Pick Apples

2008-08-24T17:30:00.001-07:00

Beilke Family Farm, since 1950

2008-08-24T16:42:00.000-07:00

Beilke Family Farm

Friday afternoon update......not much left

Sunday is the last day

Free is a very good price

Apple Update

Still Open! And Salem Harvest came today!

Last Day to Pick Apples is Saturday. (Possibly)

still open , apples available

Yes we are still open!!

Pink Lady is ready!

Still plenty of apples on the farm available for picking!!!!!

Granny Smith are now ready.

Best time to come for a wide selection!!

FINALLY Fuji and Braeburn apples are READY!!

Open 7 days a week....Dawn to Dusk

what beats the taste of a crispy apple ?

GALA and HONEYCRISP are now ready!

Gala Apples ready at this time. . . .

Baby Silas has arrived!

Red Gravenstein are ready to pick on Wednesday (Aug 31st)

Working away....

What we've been up to.....

Week of Nov 8th

Apple Update: Week of Nov 1st...Pink Lady Ready!

What we have been up to this summer....

Corn Sprout Germinating

Update, Monday Oct 25th: Gold Rush and Rome are now ready!

She is an "official" farmer now!

Cameos, Granny Smith and Braeburn are ready

Ruby Jons

New Apple Ready!

Update

Another apples is ripe.

Apple Variety Info

Update

Melrose Ready.

Finally some pictures!

Two Rows of Jonagold Ready!

Half a Row of Golden Delicious are Ready

Orchard will be closed for 2 days.

Honeycrisp and Gala

Gravensteins are all picked.

Red Gravenstein are ready!

Busy time of the year for us.

Last week of the Fruit stand on 99E

Blueberries, Blueberries and more Blueberries!!

Blueberry Availability Update

Corn, Chinese Cabbage seed and Beans

Summer is slowly creeping in.

Beekeeper!

Things are starting to pick up around here.

Apple Tree Pruning

Merry Christmas

Two Apple Varieties Still Available

Update

Four Varieties Still Available

We still have apples!

Pink Lady Ready!

Winter Apples Ready

Granny Smith, Braeburn and Gold Rush Ready.

New: Fuji, Rome, Red Delicious ready now.

More Apple Varieties ready.

More Apples are Ready Now!

U-Pick Apples are getting closer!

Apples and Blueberries in bloom!

NEW- Selling Flowers and Blueberries this year

Definitely dorment, December 2008

Come out and have Grandpa show you the apples

8 acres of U-Pick Apples

Beilke Family Farm, since 1950