The 2008 KBFarm blueberry season officially came to an end today. We had heavy picking Monday and today which pretty much depleted the supply of quality berries. We will open Saturday to allow a few people to pick what is remaining of the rabbiteye berries. The unripe berries still on the bushes will not likely ripen into quality berries. We had a great number of interesting people come this year. One lady was originally from Ethiopa and one from Taiwan as well as another from Austria. Most of the customers expressed their support and had good things to say about our berries as well as our operation.
Now we can get on with the maintenance of the bushes and weed control which is going to be a major job, as usual. We just about doubled the pounds picked compared to 2007. There is tremendous potential in 2009 to quadruple what was picked this year. The rabbiteyes did not produce this year as they did in 2007. The word is spreading and we have a greater number of customers to contact for next year’s crop. For the most part, the weather cooperated except for one Saturday that we had to shut down because of storms. That would have been an excellent day without a doubt and it would have been the final day for the highbush berries. After that, we focused on the rabbteye berries.

The 2008 Pick-your-own operations for Kiomatia Blueberry Farm have begun a few days early, based on the number of ripe blueberries we are now seeing. We have 1 and 2 gallon buckets for picking and the pick-your-own price will be $10 per gallon. Hours of operation will be Mon, Wed, Fri, and Sat from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Because the availability of ripe berries can change from day to day, as well as weather and other reasons, the days of operation can change so please call 903 674-2477 before coming to pick. We will try to have a recorded message for each scheduled day of picking. Also, please read the FAQ section of this web page for questions regarding type of clothing and shoes to wear and other questions you might have. You are welcome to call or email with specific questions you may have.

Well, not yet — but the rabbiteye bushes are in heavy bloom presently and the highbush berries are just now forming buds. With the harvest season approaching, further updates will be added here on the web as well as upick information on our blueberry phone line (over on the left). It’s almost time!!!

The 2007 Oxford word of the year is locavore. More and more people are choosing to support local food producers, and in doing so renew and support regional foodways.

A locavore is someone who eats food grown or produced locally or within a certain radius such as 50, 100, or 150 miles. (from Wikipedia)

also, see West Texas article, Austin Statesman article, Southern Foodways Alliance, NYT Farmstay Article

We’re getting incredible color on our Crepe (or Crape) Myrtles this year - all the rain that we have had has created such vivid color with all the crepe myrtles everywhere.

from wikipedia:

The Common Crape-myrtle Lagerstroemia indica, from China and Korea, was introduced to the United States by French botanist Andre Michaux ca. 1790 to Charleston, South Carolina, where it is today a very common ornamental shrub raised and cultivated in South Central United States, and is growing in popularity.

The Giant Crape-myrtle Lagerstroemia speciosa, from tropical India, is a tree which is established only in the warmest areas of the US, such as Alabama, Arizona, California, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas, and surrounding states.

Eight inches of rain this month so far - seems like lately it rains every day. We had some really ugly clouds late last evening - they were really swirling around almost over the house. There is water going over the Dam at Texoma for the second time since 1957 - and the third time since it was built in 1940’s.

Due to the consistent rain and cooler temperatures over the last several weeks, the 2007 blueberry season has ended about two weeks ahead of schedule. In spite of an early finish, this was a really impressive year for the number of berries as well as the number of people who came out to pick. Thanks, everyone! We plan to keep our web site active throughout the year with periodic updates and articles and other fun things, so bookmark us and check back often — or use the rss feed to get updates as they happen. Feel free to get involved in the discussions. We like hearing your ideas, too. There are already lots of great plans for further development in store, and we’re really excited about sharing what the future of Kiomatia Blueberry Farm holds with all of you!

It’s raining again this morning and looking like more rain is forecast for tomorrow through next week. At this point, this blueberry season may be shortened because of all the rain. This much rain is highly unusual for this time of year and is an anomaly. If the weather forecast is wrong regarding the next several days, the Rabbiteye season could last until mid-July.

We had hoped to open up today but it has been raining since about 6 a.m. at a steady rate. Even if it stops now, the ground may be so wet that people could not drive out to the picking area. Likely the rain will stop in the next hour or so and we will take a look at the road area and make a determination as to whether we can open.