“Bye Saskatoons!”

I always think the season for picking saskatoons is short, but this year has been exceptionally limited.

Our first official opening date was July 21.  As usual, I was hesitant to announce for guests to come because I know those first few pickings are rather slow-going (as one is required to select the random ripe ones instead of the clusters that come later), and I always want everyone to really enjoy the experience.  Fortunately, many did have the time to enjoy the warmth of the sun as they leisurely filled their buckets with those tasty saskatoons.

Then, we had those few days of prime picking…the ones where you can head into a row with an empty bucket, and wherever the saskatoons are, the majority are in nice, easy bunches and it doesn’t take long to successfully harvest the amount desired to take home.  This year, those prime days lasted less than a week!

Finally, we had the tail-end gathering, where there are fewer saskatoons, some still red, some perfect, and some already dried up.  Like the beginning stage, this is a task meant for those with some free time on their hands, and who relish the challenge of finding those remaining delicious saskatoons to stock up their supplies.  This stage flew by this year….

All that to say, I was overly optimistic when I told people we’d still be open for u-pick saskatoons on the August long weekend.  I really wanted that to be the case, but we are going to have to close it down.  We will have some pre-picked available, and if you want to wander along the rows, gleaning whatever you find, that is fine, but please don’t come out expecting to easily pick a bucketful.

We’ll stay open as long as we have the fresh, pre-picked saskatoons available.  We need to operate on a “First come, first served” basis, so I won’t be able to guarantee supplies.  I’ll let you know when we are officially closed, but it’s looking like maybe Saturday, August 4th will be our last day.  The limited amount of sour cherries and raspberries we have are also on a first come, first served basis.

The good news is that there are still vegetables growing, and we’ll open up again when they are ready to sell…tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, zucchini, cucumbers….. I can hardly wait!