If you would like to be added to our email list please contact us . Typically the newsletter will be short and come out weekly during the harvest season [June to August] to let you what is happening. It also comes out once or twice in off season.

[for Strawberries go to last paragraph]

Well, Mother Nature has been very kind to us this year. While there has been less than maximum growth as a result of last year’s drought, the good news is that as of this writing we have not lost any of the blooms on the current crop (Knock on wood!); our water table at the farm has been recharged (but we need continued rain to keep it charged); and as of today we are down to 7% risk of frost damage, with no cold weather in the forecast for the next 7 days. So we are cautiously optimistic for continued good fortune!

We anticipate opening June 1 for blackberries and about June 15 for Blueberries. Stay tuned though, these forecasts could change depending on the weather.

For those who wonder what we have been up to since last season:
It has been a busy fall, winter and spring. In addition to 16 man weeks of pruning blueberries we took out about 250 of the Delight blueberries and replanted with a variety called “On Slow”. On Slow will harvest in the same season as Delight. It will be sweeter but not quite as big. We apologize to those of you who like the Delight variety's size, but it is susceptible to leaf rust, which requires use of a fungicide while the berries are being picked (and which we choose not to do), and the plants are so tender to frost that we have had no or very little crop 4 years in 5. Next year we will take out the rest of the Delight and replace them with a new hybrid rabbiteye known as “Robeson” which should start our blueberry season about 15 days earlier. In the rest of the varieties, we planted new plants in a number of blank spaces where plants have been lost due to tractor blight, pine mice, borers and other micellaneous reason for the past 5 or 10 years, including replanting the Muscadine, blackberries and Table grapes that got zapped by the drought and April 6, 2007 freeze. We put in a concrete pad to make it easier turning into the upper parking that we put in last year. We planted a winter annual crimson clover as a replacement for fertilizer in the grapes. It is blooming now…It’s incredible to see!

With the great crop we anticipate that the prepicked price of blueberries will drop by about $7 per gallon…$25 to $18. We really want to thank everyone for their support through a very tough year last year- we wouldn't be here without you! Just for your info the price of fertilizer has increased from a few 100 dollars a ton to over 800 dollars a ton over the past several years. .. So there has been some increase in price over three years ago that it is necessary just make it possible for us to grow berries. We will investigate use of legumes in other crops to susbstitute for fertilizer too...

New Family Ventures:
Ann is retiring from her job at Clemson University in June and, along with a partner, Lou Christensen (Mountain Willow), is growing and selling Pussy Willows. We have planted about 10 varieties. They will be harvested from Christmas through April 15. Pussy willows like moist ground so we are using them in the riparian area around our streams to protect the streams. We are also putting up a small hoop house for Ann. The chickens are doing well and they love grazing in the crimson clover. The eggs are currently available at Bee Well Honey in Pickens. For our Keowee Keys patrons who may have missed seeing our daughter Zoe at the restaurant, she is now working at the Cliffs, but she will continue to help out on the farm and taking berries to market this summer. And adding to the summer busies- we are anticipating the birth of our first grandchild by our oldest daughter in mid-May!

STRAWBERRIES
Rod Wetzel in Mountain Rest, in Oconee County is selling strawberries this year. His number 718 7105. Eric Hunter near Easley between Dacusville and Easley said he would start picking April 24 but to call to be sure. His number is 859 2978. Beechwood farms in Marietta is open and picking. I also saw their roadside truck on Route 130 in Seneca. Trotter farms has strawberries and you have to get them from their roadside mobile stands. I have not seen them yet but they should start soon. I don’t have a number for them. Hardy Berry Farm, 224 5441, near Anderson on Strawberry Farm Rd off of Dobs Bridge Rd, opened this past Saturday for strawberries and say they have lots. They will have several fruits as the season progresses. Andy Callaham, 338 0810, www.carolinapeaches.com will be open April 22, 24, 26 then starting Monday the 28 should have good supply of strawberries. Callaham’s orchard is near Belton 564 Crawford Road.

We have put ourselves on www.TheLocalHarvest.Org web site. They have a review section on the web site. If you would like to write a little review about us we would love it. To write a comment, log in to the site, and click on the "user reviews" link under the "View" heading in the left side bar. That will take you to your "user reviews" page: www.localharvest.org/members/reviews.jsp?id=10622

We’ll keep you updated on the harvest to come!
Walker for the Happy Berry Bunch

The Happy Berry, Inc.
Mailing Address Only: 120 Kelley Creek Road
Farm Address-No Mail Receptacle: 510 Gap Hill Road
Six Mile, SC 29682
Phone: (864) 868-2946
Farm: (864) 350-9345
Email: ContactUs@TheHappyBerry.com