the farmer's wife: end of June...end of the heat wave

As the northwest has just experienced the highest temperatures ever in our area, Sauvie Island Farms is accessing our berry crops and trying to predict how the next few weeks will be on the farm.

This week:

Blueberries: Earliblue All have ripened at once and are ready to be picked. These do have some sun damage on the upper side of the bushes, but right now the picking is easy and the berries are sweet. We do not know how this heat will affect the length of the blueberry season. It may be a shorter than 'normal' season this year. So don't wait if you want the Earliblues.

Blue Crop These are ripening quickly also. Some ripe berries and many green still to ripen. We are hoping that the green berries ripen as usual.

Red Raspberries: Raspberries do not like HOT..so they have suffered from this weather. There are soft, discolored fruit on the vines, mixed in with beautifully ripe and sweet berries. It's easy to see which ones not to pick. Tulameen, Saanich and Coho are all ripe.

Yellow Raspberries: These berries took the hardest hit from the heat. You will find a lot of the ripest are now soft on the vines. We are hoping that more will ripen in the next week or so.

Tayberries: Small quantities of ripe berries, with many more that just need a few more days to ripen.

Marionberries: Beautifully ripe berries hiding in the vines, some sun burned berries are on the topside of the vines. It will be a short season this year.

Strawberries: gleaning conditions, very tiny berries hiding in the plants and full of sweet flavor. It will take some determination to find these, but you are welcome to try.

Cabbage, spinach, zucchini, peas, basil, cilantro, rosemary, lavender, Shasta daisies, and a few other flowers are ready for you!