Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Our 2009 Season is almost here!



We've been busy at Chiles Peach Orchard, getting ready for a new season! The strawberries are ripening - there will be a few for picking this weekend; there will be a more abundant supply next week. We are just beginning!

We've been cleaning, decorating, and stocking the market at Chiles Peach Orchard. We are hoping you will enjoy and appreciate our new inventory. Be sure to check out our new line of scented candles (they smell DELICIOUS!), some re-usable shopping bags (great for picking peaches, taking to the grocery store, picking apples, etc!), and some fun wine accessories! We can't wait for you to see them!

Our new season begins this Friday, May 1st. Our hours will be Monday-Saturday 9-6, and Sundays from 10-5. Can't wait to see you!

Monday, April 6, 2009

Beautiful Weekend!







Hope the weather was as gorgeous in your neck of the woods this past weekend as it was here. Blue, blue, blue skies, temps in the 70's and 80's, just fantastic! We uncovered the strawberry plants last week so that they could enjoy the warm temperatures and sunshire. They've started blooming, so we should have the first berries ripe in about a month. It's almost here!

The peach blossoms are at their peak, and I've attached a few more photos for your enjoyment.

The weather is changing dramatically beginning tonight, and we have several nights of below freezing temperatures to contend with this week. Today we are covering the strawberries back up to protect that tender vegetation. This is a very labor-instensive job. It takes 6 men almost a full day to get our 2 acres of berries covered. We use rock to hold the covers down, so all that stone must be put back in place (we just uncovered them less than a week ago) and the covers securely fastened in order to protect the plants. The peach trees are very vulnerable to this upcoming cold as well - the blossoms are wide open, so the tiny fruit inside is very exposed.

Today we are also calibrating more thermometers to use in the orchard, and gassing up the wind machines for use.

I'll update you more over the next few days. We'll be out at night and early mornings to do what we can - we'll see what Mother Nature has in mind.