The dog days of summer have certainly arrived this week with steamy July days. It’s surprising that humidity levels are high while the lawns, gardens and farm fields are parched for lack of water. The benefits from the two inches of rainfall from June 23rd and 24th have literally evaporated. Hopefully today and tonight, some relief will come in the form of thunderstorms with a slower, somewhat sustained rainfall.
Tomorrow is our fifth annual Blueberry Festival as the berries become ripe with the early variety, Duke, the first to be ready followed by the most popular variety ever called Bluecrop and finishing the season with Elliot. Food, music and hayrides will be the norm tomorrow and even better yet, it’s all free, well all except for the food.
The native blueberry was never a cultivated crop until about 1900 when Elizabeth White of New Jersey read a government article about the cultivation of blueberries. Soon, research followed on the White farm in New Jersey and the rest is history with thousands of acres of blueberries in New Jersy, Michigan, Oregon and other states across the country. Southwest Michigan with its sandy, naturally acidic soils and plenty of water makes for prime blueberry country. Mike DeGrandchamp of Southhaven, Michigan has stated that birds are not a problem as they cannot even make a dent in production due to the almost endless acres of blueberries.
Be sure to listen too to ‘Ready, Set, Grow’ tomorrow at 8 a.m. on 1590 WAKR as Chuck Seiberling from the famous Seiberling Farms in Norton talks about sweet corn production and other things grown on the farm just two miles west of Norton center. Seiberling sweet corn is a staple of the Owl Barn Market when it is available about mid-July through mis-September. I’m sure Chuck along with other farmers and gardeners is hoping for some relief from the dry weather.
Tom
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