Thanks for a GREAT season folks :)

Hi gang,

I usually write a poem,
Some catchy little ditty,
The words roll off my tongue,
But rarely are they whitty

The season was spectacular,
My customers are the best,
Ma Nature pumped out those berries,
You know all the rest

We thank you for your kindness,
Your support we could not do without,
Farming is our lifeblood,
To us, it's what life is all about!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU for the most wonderful, successful, rewarding season EVER. YOU made it happen..... we just grow the darned berries :) I know, I know, we have a little something to do with how the berries turn out. LOLOL Ma Nature just decided to give us every possible break this year - no roasting temperatures, wet winter or rain in May. Just beautiful weather and happy customers.

It may be boring to hear this over and over but....... YOU are the reason we do this season after season. The happy faces and the berry stories are wonderful. We have the best job in the world. Thank you for visiting us this season and introducing so many new folks to our berries. We are truly grateful for your support.

The new baby plants look FANTASTIC. I get a really good feeling about next year, our 9th year! Will we have the Ely stand open??? I really don't know at this point. It would very well happen. I couldn't have done it this year. You folks scooped up everything we had from our 1 little stand. AND.... if only I could clone Annie, my faithful berry stand companion and Whitley, my superb college student helper.

Thank you again for an awesome season! See ya next year :)

Cheers (as always)

Sally Strawberry

LAST DAY, last berries in @ 3:30

Hi gang,

This is it. I will bring in the last berries for the season @ 3:30. When they're gone they're gone and so are we :) I'll write my end of the season berry update in a few days but..... I wanted to give you the last heads up, breaking news.

Cheers!

Sally Strawberry

OPEN :), transplanting complete!

Hi all,

Today is Sunday, 9/16. I'm happy to report that we'll be OPEN! I'll bring in fruit at 12:00.

Here's the plan for today (all subject to change of course).

I'll bring in my first load @ 12:00. If we sell out quickly (like Friday), we may be open for a couple of hours straight THEN close the stand temporarily and keep harvesting. I'll come back in with fruit @ 3:30 and stay till we sell out. Remember - if the metal gate is open and the stand is closed..... check the berry clock for the time we'll be back with more. I leave the metal gate open if I'm coming back.

This is what happened Friday. Open @ noon, sold out @ around 2:00. Brought in more @ 3:30. Sold out and closed for the day around 4:00. I could tell you folks read your emails!

NEXT WEEK:

Monday - closed 9/17
Tuesday - closed
Wednesday - OPEN
Thursday - closed
Friday - hopefully open

It's getting down to the wire now. I predict 5 or 6 more OPEN days.

TRANSPLANTING is done!!! Whopeeeeee!!! We have 2.75 acres tucked away for your berry harvest next year. The babies look good. Now all we have to do is keep them happy.

Honey, honey - We have the cute little bears on the stand now. They hold 12 oz and are really handy and mess free for kids. We also have a few 1/2 oz jars and 1 - 2 lb jar left. The 3 lb jars were snagged immediately by folks who love that honey and can't do without it over the winter. Stock up before we close!

Cheers!

Sally Strawberry

Carstensen Farms
490 Casa Grande Rd.
Petaluma, CA 94954
sacvegggie@aol.com (note 3 g's)

More berries @ 3:40, closed 2:15 - 3:40

Hi gang,

Quick update in case you're on your computer and waiting to zip by the stand.

We sold out..... I'll bring more berries @ 3:40 and stay till they're gone. I should have about 9 - 10 flats. The stand door is down but the gate is open to indicate we'll be back. I also set the berry clock to reflect the time we'll have more berries.

Hope this helps :)

Sally Strawberry

OPEN!!!, transplant update, stock up on honey

Hi gang!!

We will be OPEN tomorrow, Friday 9/14 @ noon. This is (so far) my only for sure open day. We will harvest and bring in as much as we can. No bets on how long I'll be open for the day. It should be a good day. My goal is to stay until 6PM with berries. I'll work very hard to make that happen because..... I don't know how many more days I have left.

Friday 9/14 OPEN
Saturday CLOSED for transplanting
Sunday possibly open if we finish transplanting Saturday
Monday should be open
Tuesday CLOSED
Wed too far out to tell

We have been transplanting since last Wednesday, 11 to 12 hrs a day starting @ 6AM with lights on the canopy boom. We are finishing our 8th block today, with an estimate of 46,000 plants tucked in the ground. We have 7,000 more to go!! It is a very intense process. I juggle things like watering ahead of where we'll plant, watering in what just was planted, soaking plants in tubs and delivering them every day (several times), taking out just what I need from the cooler (set @ 33 degrees), logging in what was planted and where we are each day, managing the crew and tractor driver, and tending to the existing patch.

After transplanting we juggle all kinds of other tasks before the rain sets in. We need to have straw down between all the rows to block out weeds. All the runners and blossoms must be pinched off each and every plant until they go dormant. The new plants and existing plants need to share the watering schedule (we can only water 1 block at a time). We fit in harvesting and sales. We monitor for spider mites and release good mite eaters, fertilize AND finally, the whole existing patch needs to be mowed, plastic removed, disked and plowed, and cover crop seeded before winter hits. Whew!!!! and we make it look simple :)

Honey, Honey!!
The O'Honey gang will bring their last batch of honey for the season on Friday. Those of you who have been enjoying this delicious honey all year can stock up for your winter needs. If you haven't tried it you are truly missing out! I have now become a "honey snob". I used to think honey was honey. Oh how wrong I was.

How long will the season last you ask??? I really won't know until we get out there tomorrow and see how many green berries are waiting to ripen. My feeling is we have about 7 sales days left (if we're lucky). I'll keep you informed.

Cheers!

Sally Strawberry