OzBF Berries & other goodies are coming soon!
We would appreciate if you forwarded this email to your friends and have them sign-up for our berry alerts on our website at Ozarkberryfarm.com. If you have any questions don't hesitate to email us via a reply to this alert.
Alan & Lil
Contents in this Issue
- Anticipated Picking Dates
- U-Pick Berries
- We-Pick Berries (we pick for you)
- Signup for Picking Strawberries
- Honey, Jellies & Jams
- Sustainable Farming
- About OzBF & Map
- What you need to do
- Go to the OzBf Store
Anticipated Picking Dates
We will begin issuing a calendar as well as open days and times as soon as the berries are ready. Below is our best guess at berry availability.
- OzBF Store - For We-Pick orders ... Store is open
- Strawberries - Late May, go to OzBF store to be added to the picking list
- Blueberries - Mid June, Duke, Patriot, Blueray & Draper
- Blackberries - Last week of June through mid July - Natchez
- Elderberries - Mid to Late August
- Local Honey - Busy bees have made some 1lb & 2lb jars
- Jams - Blueberry & Strawberry
- Jelly - Blackberry, Elderberry & Tri-Berry (Blue, Black & Elderberry)
Strawberries -We will be using a strawberry picking list due to a limited supply and that we are still trying to sort out a pattern as to how these ripen.
You can signup to join the picking list at the OzBf Store. Strawberries are $2.85 per lb.
Due to the limited supply and that strawberries need picking every couple days OzBF will work down the list and contact you for picking. This is how it works:
- You place an order to let us know roughly how many gallon you want, no payment until pickup. This gets you in the line up.
- There typically is only a day or two notice as we are trying our best to guess the quantity available against what you want. We are still very much learning this berry.
- When we have berries ready to pick we will contact the top 2-4 people on the list to come pick depending on amount we are guessing to be available. Texting seems to work better than emails so please provide your cell number
- We negotiate the best time for you to pick.
- Please be patient as we are still in process of experimenting with this new approach of tabletop strawberries.
- If you are not available, you stay on the list and will be contacted at the next available day.
Blueberries - Made it through the spring cold spells and appear to have lots of berries. The peak picking is typically the end of June. That is because all the berries are available and ripe for picking. Picking at the beginning of the season allows for time to do multiple pickings and typically obtain some of the larger berries which come early. Picking at the end of the season will harvest the ripest and typically sweetest berries. Blueberries are $2.85 per lb.
Blackberries - Our season starts in late June and ends mid July. After the berries have set, and we can determine the available quantity of berries we will have, we will decide either open picking like in the blueberries, or set up a picking list like in the strawberries. Blackberries are $2.85 per lb.
Elderberries - Elderberries are a mid to late August picking. We offer a u-pick option for them. We are also considering selling the flowers (used just like the berries but earlier in the season). We will decide when flowers ae available, and set the price as we get closer to seeing the production level.
If you do not have experience with picking, processing or consuming elderberries it is best you do some research. Unlike other fruits elderberries should not be consumed raw and require heating/cooking. There are lots of good elderberry recipes and how to process videos on the internet.
We-Pick (for you) orders are now being taken. Get yours in early by going to OzBf Store. We pick, sort & pack berries for you. Farm pickup only this year. Prices & quantities are available in the store.
Honey, Jellies & Jams -
The bees have been busy. We will have honey in 1lb and 2lb jars. Lil has also been busy so we will have Blueberry and Strawberry Jam as well as Blackberry, Elderberry and Tri-Berry (Black, Blue & Elderberr) Jelly. Go to the OzBf Store for pricing and to reserve your favorites. Payment at pickup. Price is $5.50.
Sustainable Farming - We really really do not want to use any of the cides (pest, herb, fungi, etc). However conditions have arisen where we had to. Our first line of defense is to use organic. On our website we publish by year what we have done to the berries and what we plan to do for your knowledge. If you ever have any question please ask. Below is our 2022 plans and activities.
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All Berries except strawberries - March 2022; pelleted fertilizer and sulfur side dressed (spread on the ground around plants) and also applied through drip system (does not touch plant or berries, applied to roots) - May-June
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Blackberries and Elderberries-For Japanese beetles - We did not need any applications last year. If needed we use ECOTROL (organic) combination of rosemary, peppermint and geranium oils spray application to leaves. Typically this is a post picking season application.
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Strawberries - These are grown on a tabletop and require constant feeding of water & fertilizer which is applied through the drip irrigation system which does not touch the plant or berries. We do not anticipate any other applications through the fruiting season of May to July. Last year we had a devastating infestation of fruit fly in which we quit picking. This fruit fly develops later in the season, usually mid to late July. So by using a different planting schedule, we hope to avoid this situation.
What you need to do
- We will issue weekly a calendar as to when and what time we are open starting in early June when blueberries are ready. We plan to be open about 6 days a week and will vary times from mornings, to evenings and include some Sundays. If you have a tight schedule email us so we can be sure to include the best time for you. See #3 in our contents list "U-Pick Berries" for details about other berry picking.
- We provide picking containers but you might bring a water bottle, sunscreen and a hat.
- Children are welcome but remember, its a farm with outdoor hazards and other guests, so it is important to keep them close and not let them wander.
- We do not allow pets or smoking on the farm. Please do not bring pets and leave them in the car as it can really get hot quick.
- It requires some walking to get to the berries. If you have difficulty on uneven terrain it would be best to come during picking of Drapers & Patriots as they are closest to our check in/out area.
- Some people like to bring chairs or buckets to sit on while they pick. We typically have enough buckets unless it is a big crowd day.
- We have an indoor restroom. Do not consume the water in the restroom or in the field as it is on our irrigation system. We have a fresh water well also.
- We accept cash, check, credit, debit (no pin) and contactless Apple & Google pay via our card reader provider Stripe.
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