Dear members,
It’s strawberry time people! It’s only fitting how the strawberries always start to explode around Mother’s Day — and this year is no exception.
Starting this Thursday, our strawberry u-pick patch is open!
See below for logistics:
NEW MEMBERS:
If you are new to the farm this year, let’s get you oriented! We will be hosting orientations for the next couple of weeks at the times below. We’ll orient you to the garden and the strawberries and go over farm u-pick etiquette and safety guidelines. Ideally everyone participating in your share can attend one of the times below. If you can’t attend one, please reach out to us to schedule an orientation time. Please note — all new members must receive an orientation before coming to u-pick.
Orientation tours:
Thursday, May 6 @ 6:00 pm
Friday, May 7 @ 6:00 pm
Saturday, May 8 @ 10:00 am
Thursday, May 13 @ 6:00 pm
Friday, May 14 @ 6:00 pm
Saturday, May 15 @ 10:00 am
Where is the farm? The member parking lot is located at 13024-E Green Valley Rd. Sebastopol, CA 95472. The "E" is important! Google maps will send you to the first driveway of the property, 13024 Green Valley Rd., that is not the right one. If you’re coming from Graton/Sebastopol, keep going a few driveways down (or turn back if you're coming from Guerneville) and look for our fishy logo and sign at 13024-E Green Valley Rd. It’s right across the street from the big Mt. Gilead bible camp sign.
Parking: After entering the gravel driveway, find a place to park on in gravel lot directly ahead of you. Please park on the peripheries in a way that leaves central avenues for entering and exiting cars. Please do not block the bay of the big open barn.
Where to I meet up for orientation? Our barn is in the middle of the cluster of old mill buildings to your right as you drove in. Just head towards those big greenhouses to your right and you can’t miss us.
What should I bring?:
A face covering / mask
A small basket for strawberries
Water / sun hat / picnic supplies if you plan to stay awhile
Cash for add-on goodies in the Green Valley Marketplace!
RETURNING MEMBERS:
If you are a returning member, go for it! The strawberries are located on the farm in the same place as last year, on the little hill above the vegetable fields. Weekly u-pick limits will be posted on the u-pick board in the barn and on a sign in the field. Please bring your own pint basket(s) and/or a container for your strawberries. We will have some new pint-baskets in the pick-up barn if you need to resupply.
See below for our 2021 COVID-19 practices.
NOTES ON THE STRAWBERRIES:
How many can I pick?: This week, the u-pick limit is 4 pints per share, and it will change each week as the plants grow and flush throughout the year. Each week we will post the strawberry u-pick limit in the barn and on a sign near the strawberries. Please mind u-pick limits when you are picking strawberries to ensure every share gets an equal share.
What is a pint? See the picture a below. A pint is the green guy on the left, a two-pint container is the guy on the right. We will have a limited amount of new pint containers for members in the barn. Please re-use and pick into re-usable larger containers like a basket.
Sticky strawberries: Our 2nd year strawberry plants are having a little battle with lygus bugs and greenhouse white flies, common and harmless (to us) pests of organic strawberries in California. As a result the plants are producing a lot of “honeydew”, i.e. they are sticky. This stickiness is a little gross but not harmful to humans — just wash off at home and cheer on our strawberry plants!
Old strawberries: If you have the time while you are picking, help out our strawberries (and farmers) out by picking off any old or moldy strawberries you see and tossing them into the cover crop. This is hygienic and will clean up and invigorate the plants.
FLOWERS & HERBS:
The flower and herb garden explosion is always about a month behind the first strawberry explosion, but there are some goodies to be found in the garden.
Herbs: In the herb world the Oregano and Thyme never look better; Mints, Rosemary, and Culinary Lavender are starting to pop in. As usual, we will put signs on the herbs ready to pick. Please refrain from picking unmarked herbs.
Flowers: Check out those spring Statice, Foxgloves, Scabiosa, Craspedia, and Penstemon. Small bouquets for now please while things get going.
CAREFUL! This is also the time of year where there are tons of vulnerable young seedlings around the garden. Please watch your step and train your kiddos not to walk on beds!
2021 COVID GUIDELINES:
As vaccinations increase, we can relax our farm COVID rules. All members and guests will be required to follow these protocols while on the farm:
Wash your hands and the hand-washing station before u-picking
Bring a mask, and have it ready.
If you are closer than 6 feet than someone who is not in your family / pod, please pull the mask up, otherwise masks are not required outdoors on the farm.
Masks are required in all indoor settings on the farm (the bathroom, Marketplace, Bramble Tail creamery, etc.)
No hand-to-mouth: Do not eat or taste your strawberries or herbs while u-picking. Please enjoy after you are done u-picking for the day.
SHARES STILL AVAILABLE:
A few shares are still available for our Strawberry, Herb & Flower Garden program if you have any family, friends or neighbors who might be interested. Please spread the word!
Please reach out if you have any questions, and we can’t wait to see you all in the fields and garden!
David & Kayta
