Category Archives: Uncategorized

Uncategorized

What a Year!

As you can see I haven’t been very faithful blogging.  It’s because this year we’ve been so busy trying to keep up.  Early in the spring we were so excited all of our berries looked great!  Then it frosted and cut the berries we were expecting down.  We worked very hard to pull the weeds and had them all “cleaned” around them in early June.  The fields were beautiful and the competing grass was knocked down. 

We purchased a small mower to go in between the plants because doing it by hand and with the DR Power Trimmer was taking too long.  So the Toro Timecutter joined the farm.  Then the rain stopped.

It seems like forever that we’ve been watering and watering.  We’ve been using a soaker hose, sprinkler, and pulling a 65 gallon tank and watering each and every plant individually.  Day in and day out we water early in the morning and then again in the evening.  With the weather in July being second only to 1936 as the hottest ever, we’re struggling to keep them healthy.  The newest plants are the only ones that are really struggling, we will lose some.  We’ve been amazed though with all this hot dry weather the older plants are sending out new shoots and have more new growth than we could have imagined.  They are hardy if given a little time to grow.  We are just in awe that in ground that feels like concrete and has cracks 1/2″ wide can support the new growth we are seeing on these plants.  

We will be having berries to pick soon, earlier than normal, just not as many as we had hoped.  Hopefully after the trying year we’ve been through now, next year’s crop will be wonderful.

Uncategorized

We Have Berries!

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted.  Mainly because life has been crazy.  If we’re not enjoying our beautiful granddaughter, we’re probably working in the yard or the berry fields.   Truth is there’s nothing we’d rather be doing!

We had a rough winter because after planting last fall, Woody suffered a farm injury and broke two ribs and tore his rotator cuff.  So there’s been a lot of rehabilitation going on.  Needless to say we made a few changes to the equipment and are more safety conscious.

Early in the spring we put grow tubes around the smaller berries in an effort to keep the critters from pulling them out and eating on them.  It was really a good decision for us.  Abe and Sasha chase off deer at least two or three times daily so every little bit of prevention helps.  The berries we put in last fall are coming out the tops of the grow tubes we placed around them and they look really healthy.   We did remove the grow tubes once to use a foliar spray which was the easy part.  Replacing them all after the deer had pulled out five plants, was a pain in the rear.

I’ve been spending a lot of time this summer with “my new favorite tool,”  a DR Power Trimmer.  It really is a good solution for getting in between the berries and taking the grass and weeds down low.   For me especially, the California emission motor, and 16″ wheels makes it far easier to use than either a weed eater or a small lawn mower.  It has been a real help this summer keeping weeds under control.   We have a picture of Woody using the trimmer.

We attended the Midwest Aronia Association Conference earlier this summer.  It was eye-opening seeing and talking to so many other folks interested in the same berries.  We learned even more about these healthy little berries, their history and use in Poland, and their potential.  We also dined on several delicious entrees prepared using aronia berries.

We have fertilized with fish emulsion, watered, trimmed between bushes, and loved up on the plants all summer long.  Now we are encouraged because we have berries!  Not very many yet, because it’s still a little early.  The plants take three to four years to produce a crop, but we have some producing and expect a few more next year.  Our first bushes are two and a half years old.

The few berries we have (that we haven’t already eaten) will be frozen and eaten.  From what we’re reading, 1/4 cup of berries daily is so beneficial for your health.  There are studies which point to lowering cholesterol and preventing diseases.  I’ll post more about that later, but right now, I can’t wait to show the photos!  [slideshow]

Uncategorized

Aronia beats Blueberry

I keep watching the berries and hoping for warmer weather!  I guess it’s Spring Fever.

As we’re watching and waiting for the weather to improve, we’re studying and looking further into the health benefits of our little purple berries.  I recently located another excellent article about these little gems.  I was amazed at this report showing blueberries having about a third the ORAC value of the aronia berries!  I knew they were high on the anti-oxidant scale, but this is just reassuring.  Oh the benefits, I can’t wait for our first crop.

Uncategorized

Great News Regarding Parkinsons and Berries

Great news reports lately relating the benefits of eating berries to your health.  We are thrilled and knew we were on the right path with our aronia plantation!  But the great reports about berries and Parkinson’s was awesome news.  Read the interesting reports which link consuming 2-3 cups of berries to decreased Parkinson’s risks for men and women.

So what are these aronia berries?  Dr. Eldon Everhart, the local expert explains here.

We are more and more anxious for our plants to produce a crop!

Uncategorized

So What Are They?

One question we continually get asked when we tell people we’ve planted aronia berries is – what are they? It’s true, they’re not very common, yet. You don’t see them on the store shelves but once you do your homework, you’ll see why we’ve been interested.

They are very high anti-oxidant berries. Hardy little plants that grow to maturity and are relatively low maintenance. They are not terribly time sensitive when it comes to harvest time, unlike grapes. They are raised organically, which is extremely important to us with all my sensitivities. They are native to cold areas and will thrive in challenging soils. Boy, are we a testament to that.

This link provides more information on the berries: http://www.aroniaberry.org/

Uncategorized

Rain Finally!

After a summer marked with rain, where it seemed to occur every other day, once we planted aronia berries the moisture stopped.    Yes this year that through September had been one of the top five wettest on record, turned dry after October 9th, planting day.   Today we’re finally getting a much needed soaking from Mother Nature.

The plants are doing well for the most part.  Although I’m sure the water I’ve been applying via the tank and pump system behind the lawn tractor isn’t nearly as good as the real thing.  We have managed to keep them healthy by our at least weekly waterings.  It may not seem like a big deal, but when we first started watering it was an eight-hour chore to get around.  Now we’ve fine tuned the operation and it doesn’t take quite that long.  It’s just a tedius, time-consuming task that is best left to Mother Nature.

So we’re celebrating the rain today in central Iowa and enjoying the long-range forecast which includes rain next week too!

Uncategorized

#$#% Deer

Yes we’re cussing the deer.  Since we planted the berries, we’ve replanted and replanted countless times.  The first weekend alone we probably replanted 100.  It’s been a month and over the last couple days we’ve replanted about a dozen.  The stupid deer pull the plants out of the ground and leave them lay, usually right where they were planted.  But sometimes you have to go on a search mission.

They’ve even figured out how to get inside the fishing line fencing gate to pull them out.  The fence is in tact but the plants are pulled out.  Who said these were stupid animals?  Sasha has been doing her best to keep them at bay at night and Abe is learning to chase them off.  We have seen a remarkable difference on the nights Sasha is most active and barking through the night.  Fewer plants are uprooted.  So the big dogs are excellent prevention.  Sasha is about 12 years old and just not as fast as she used to be and Abe is only 6 months old and not as brave and bold as he needs to be just yet.  It’s looking like we should have gotten him sooner!

We’re so fed up with the deer though we’re talking electric fence and we hate to think about it, but it may be the best option to protect our investment.  We have yet to weigh all the pros and cons.

In the meantime, I’m off to water once again.  Since we planted we’ve only had one significant rainfall.  So I’m still hauling water.  Come on rain!  It rains all summer long until planting time and then the spicket shuts off – just our luck. 🙂

Uncategorized

Whew! 1,588 More Plants In the Ground

Saturday, October 9th we planted 1,488 more aronia melanocarpa berry plants. Bringing our total plantings to 2,388. It sure was a better day to plant than last year! Temperatures were over 75 degrees compared to last year when we planted in coveralls. We had wonderful help and could not have done it without all of them.

This year we drilled holes instead of trenching them in. Partly because the north field was planted in an area which last fall was primarly scrub trees and golf course. So many of the roots were not broken down enough to trench through. In early spring we used a Cat Mulcher to tear through the small timber and clear the field in preparation for this fall’s planting. What used to be two golf fareways and golf holes is no more either. The golf holes were a lot of work and not used enough to justify their labors so in went the berries. He’s just going to the golf course more now instead of mowing his own!

The summer of 2010 may be remembered as one of the wettest, yet the fall has been warm and dry. So since planting, we have been watering and watering! When the berry plants come they are much like an annual plant you would plant in your flower garden. They must be watered and cared for or they will not settle into their new ground. Especially in our heavy clay soils. So we’ve been spending a lot of time on the tractor pulling the trailer with the watering pump and hose connected. It’s a good system until the fuse blows, the battery dies, or someone falls out of the wagon when watering by hand and breaks a couple ribs.

We are looking forward to a wonderful healthy crop of aronia berries in the future. We continue to read and study about the health benefits of these high anti-oxidant fruits and look forward to their benefits on our farm for our family.

Uncategorized

Getting the Fields Prepared for Fall Planting

Existing south field with plans for a two more rows this fall. Flags mark 2009 plantings.

Today we laid out the new rows in preparation for our fall plantings.  We’re preparing to plant 1,500 new aronia plants!  Rows will be about 385′ long at the longest point!  It will certainly change the landscape out the window eventually.  It’s amazing when you stop and think about all the work preparing and planting those tiny little plants and what they will look like at maturity.  Oh the miracles of nature!

Uncategorized

Oh Deer

Aronia Berry Plant

The berries are up, well most of them anyway.  We did lose some over the winter, and all the wishing and watching still a few didn’t pull through.  But the percentage is fairly low.  It is really amazing when you consider the clay soil and the snow pack this winter that those little plants, much like any bedding plants you’d get in any flat would survive the winter.