At the start of the year on Lonetree farm, it looks like a winter’s tale. Star-studded night skies are crisp and clear, while our haskap bushes snuggle under white blankets of snow.
The vineyard-like twiggy rows emerge through the snow. The bare bushes don’t yet give away their potential.
Throughout the dormant Winter and into early Spring, we continue to focus on our work in the fields. There are 60,000 haskap bushes to prune!
Early April. Signs of life. The buds begin to break through on April 7th. The promise of things to come.
Throughout Spring, we concentrate on pest control. In this case, the ‘pests’ just happen to be deer, who love to forage through haskap bushes. We protect our plants by installing 8-foot deer fences.
There is a large deer population in this part of the world. Tying strips of white tape at deer eye-level simulates a deer’s white tail when it’s lifted in warning. This simple trick helps to deter the herds.
Meanwhile, our bees are still hibernating. When the winter snows and freezing rains pass, the bees will emerge from their hives, welcomed into a blossoming haskap farm.
