Featured in Shop Talk: The Daily Star Oneonta
Handsome Brook’s blog
http://handsomebrookfarm.blogspot.com/
It all started with a neglected vegetable patch. It was clear that someone had loved and cared for this space in years past, but it was now overgrown with weeds and thistles, and surrounded by tumbled down chicken wire. Visiting only on weekends and Bryan’s school breaks, we couldn’t raise vegetables, but we wanted to do something productive with the space, which was delightfully close to the house. The previous year, our friend and neighbor, Al Bruno, had cleared a path to the wild blackberries near our house. Perhaps, we thought, we could grow raspberries in this little spot. We purchased 15 raspberry plants (whichlook like dead sticks), and some blueberries just for fun, and planted them – not knowing exactly what would happen, nor really what we were doing. What we found the next summer was that, because of the forgiving nature of raspberries, we had 10 surviving plants.
However, in our ignorant bliss, we did not pay attention to the low pH requirements of the blueberries, and most of them died. Undeterred, we researched and did pay attention to their soil requirements (a pH of 4.5-5), then planted more. We were rewarded the following year with a bountiful harvest of raspberries, plus blueberries that survived. Encouraged by that success, we went on to research the economics of growing blueberries in our area. We found that blueberries can be profitable, but one must wait for up to 5 years for the plants to yield enough to be commercially viable. In addition, harvesting labor is a potential challenge.
Handsome Brook Farm, LLC
(Berries, Bed and Breakfast)
Bryan and Betsy Babcock
4132 E. Handsome Brook Road
Franklin, NY 13775
(607) 829-2587
www.handsomebrookfarm.com
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