Other Fun Activities for Kids
All of our Fun Things for Kids like the Troll, Straw Pyramid, Corn Maze, Sorghum Maze, Dig for Diamonds, Prospect for Gold...... etc. are now open but you should check FunThingsToDo  for detailed hours and days of operation.

Pumpkins and Fall Decorations
Pumpkins, Indian Corn,  and squash have colored up much earlier than 2008 so we should have an excellent assortment of items available in our check out area for the first weekend of October.

Dried Gourds
We have a very limited supply of dried gourds still available due to heavy sales in September. If you have a specific variety of gourd in mind, it would be a good idea to call me on my cell phone 636-387-2695 before making a special trip to the farm.

Late Season Raspberries
Fall red raspberries are still plentiful with both Prelude and Nova available.  For information on picking conditions and hours for the current day, customers are welcome to call me on my cell phone 636-387-2695 right before making a trip to the farm.

Pumpkins and Fall Decorations
Pumpkins, Indian Corn,  and squash have colored up much earlier than 2008 so we should have an modest assortment of items available during the first week of September for early fall decorators.

Dried Gourds
We still have an fair supply of dried gourds available for sale but the quantity is much less that what was available last year due to heavy sales throughout the summer.

Strawberries

Due to the cooler weather during bloom and the late ripening of our three blocks near Mexico Road, there is still a good supply of strawberries available for picking.  It appears as if strawberry ripening has finally caught up with customer flow.  We should have strawberries available for another two weeks.

This must be the year for REALLY BIG strawberries.  On Wednesday, May 27, my cousin, Margaret  found a Cabot berry over 150 grams breaking the farm record of 109 grams set in 2006.  On Thursday, May 28, another customer found a Cabot berry over 171 grams setting a new record that will probably stand for some time.

Pumpkins and Fall Decorations
The rainy weather of the last week or two has slowed progress in getting enough pumpkins, gourds, squash, and decorative corn from the fields, but we should have a good inventory of items available for sale by Friday, September 19.  Be sure to check our availability by variety web page if you are looking for a specific item.

The 20" of extra rainfall that we have had this season seems to have impacted production of some varieties like Orange Smoothie and Prizewinner quite severely -- particularly if they were planted on heavy clay soil.  Some items, like Celebration Squash and We-Be-Little pumpkins that performed poorly these last two dry years(2006 & 2007) seem headed for the best crop ever !  What this means is that we will run out of some items much sooner than normal.

Dried Gourds
We still have an excellent supply of dried gourds available for sale.

Pumpkins and Fall Decorations
Pumpkins and squash are starting to color up early (like 2007) so we should have an adequate assortment of items to permit opening sometime during the first or second week of September; a separate email on this subject will be sent when we open.

Dried Gourds
We have an excellent supply of dried gourds available for sale.

Strawberries
While strawberries are still available for picking,  the constant rains  have taken a  toll on the berries that remain and we are getting close to the end of the strawberry season.  Strawberry picking is on a day-to-day basis now and picking will be slow as customers need to carefully examine the berries that they pick.  Despite the weather however, customers still managed to pick a good sized crop of strawberries during the 2008 season.

Pumpkins and Fall Decorations
With the very warm weather we have had throughout the month of August, the fall decorations are ripening much earlier than normal so Lakeview Farms will be opening for decorative corn, gourds, squash, pumpkins, corn stalks and straw sales starting Wednesday, September 5.  For the hotter first half of September we'll probably only stay open until 1 PM. 

Most items are now available but there are some exceptions such as Fairytale Pumpkins, Wee-Be-Little mini pumpkins, Red Warty Thing gourds ...which probably will not be ready until later in September. This looks like a good year for our huge prizewinner pumpkins and the best season ever for the white Cotton Candy and Orange Smoothie painting pumpkins.  Some of the new squash items like Galeux d'Dysines and the Giant Pink Banana are spectacularly colored!  The new huge white pumpkin Full Moon should be a big hit since it is easily carved.

Pictures of new Items for 2007

Dried Gourds
For 2007 we have only a very modest collection of dried gourds due to the early October freeze in 2006 which damaged the gourds before they were able to harden off for winter.

Fall Raspberries
We should have a limited supply of red raspberries for those who arrive early each day.  While our supply of fall fruiting red raspberries has grown from 600 to 1500 feet, the berry size on the established three rows of fall fruiting Nova is small which means much slower picking than normal.  The size on the one row of new Nova and two rows of new Prelude planted this spring still looks OK.  For those individuals who find the Nova excessively tart, the relatively mild favored Prelude should be a big hit. For more information and a picture of Prelude check out: RaspberryVarietiesCombined.htm.

Our golden yellow raspberry, Anne, is still available but unfortunately peaked during the 90-100ºF weather of mid August which took a heavy toll on the total yellow raspberry crop.  Like last year we'll operate on self check-in & check-out and no recorded crop report on the phone or website.  If you have a question about up-to-the-minute picking status call me on my cell phone (636-387-2695) during the day. Picking is on a first come/first served basis and as usual I would not recommend making a special trip to our farm just to pick Raspberries. 

Fun Things for Kids
Most of the fun things for kids like the corn maze, troll's trail, sorghum maze, diamond digs, and treasure hunts are available during normal business hours. The Hay Pyramid should be complete about mid September--way ahead of our usual schedule. Gold & silver prospecting in our creek probably won't begin until the first weekend of October since we are taking new steps to limit access and better supervise this activity to insure that children are more likely to find something.  Keep in mind that we are closed Sundays in September and closed Mondays in October. The Pumpkin Troll will be on duty starting the first weekend of October on Saturday & Sunday afternoon from 12 Noon to 4 PM.

Red Raspberries
Red raspberry picking began on May 31--one day ahead of schedule. Mother Nature's one-two punch of freeze then wet weather may have hammered the strawberries pretty badly, but the red raspberries are still looking pretty good.  As always, it's not a bad idea later in the morning to call before you come just in case customers are coming faster than the berries are ripening and we are forced to shut down picking earlier than scheduled for the day. Peak picking should last thru the third week of June.   Our supply of raspberries should be adequate so we do not anticipate having to impose any restrictions on who can pick but we have had to close on alternate days over the last week or so.
 

Strawberries
Strawberry picking ended June 3.  This seemed like the season where Mother Nature was not in a cooperative mood!  First the Easter Freeze took out half the crop. Then constant rains and humid conditions caused severe berry rot on about half of the remaining half.  Those of you are not able to pick strawberries in 2007 but would like to remain on our mailing list for 2008 should mail back the cards to the address on the front of the card.

Here is an update on what impact the Easter freeze will have on our 2007 Strawberry & Raspberry season.

Strawberries
The unusually warm weather in late March and early April pushed the strawberry plants much further along than would be normal for early April and set the stage for significant damage during the Easter freeze period (April 4-9).  My best guess right now is that we lost the first week or two of the strawberry season, or half of our normal crop.  We will have a modest crop in 2007, but the season will be very short -- both starting later than normal and ending earlier than normal.  Berry size will probably be smaller than normal due to the sparse foliage and normal tendency for later berries to be smaller but the more open conditions should produce more flavorful and easier-to-see berries.

We plan to open normally with the usual email at the start of the season (very late May) and mail post cards to prior year strawberry customers in good standing about the same time.  These cards were all printed, stamped, and addressed this January.   There will be no restrictions on who can pick for the first few days of the season while the cards are being delivered but if the flow of customers appears likely to force inordinately early closings each day, we may take steps to limit picking to only 2007 strawberry card recipients.  Be sure to check the berry hotline (636-978-8830) no earlier than the afternoon before you plan to visit our farm to see what the situation will be for the following day.  No advertising or roadside signs will be used in 2007 and the newer Cabot acreage will be in our  "stealth" area not visible from the road so if you drive by and don't see any activity be aware that we may be picking and parking in our lower (pumpkin) level.

 Raspberries
While the Raspberries were not in bloom stage like the strawberries, they had begun to leaf out and suffered significant leaf damage (like the trees & shrubs).  In addition, there was also cane damage to the Canby and Anne varieties during the winter.  I am hopeful that we will have an adequate crop of Red Raspberries for our regular customers but there is always the possibility of restricting picking (see Strawberries above).  The yellow raspberries were so severely damaged by the combination of winter kill and spring freeze that we elected to prune them down to the ground and shoot for the normal fall crop in September.

Just to keep you up-to-date on what's happening at Lakeview Farms.

Customers in the News
Several of our more photogenic customers & their children have managed to end up in several newspaper feature articles that have appeared in 2006 and 2005.  We have a copy of these feature articles going all the way back to 2000 on our web site: NewspaperPhotos.htm in case you are interested.

Strawberries 
We did have some record sized (100 grams) Cabot berries ( see BiggestStrawberryList.htm )but overall, 2006 was an average year for strawberries with June rains spoiling what would otherwise have been an excellent season.  For 2007 our acreage will be 100% Cabot --this marks the first time we have ever made a total commitment to only one variety.  

 Raspberries
We had an excellent crop in 2006 -- close to the record setting pace of 2005 and the season ran into July for the first time since 1999.  In 2007 we will continue to replace our winter injury plagued Camby variety with Nova and a newer, slightly smaller, variety called Prelude for those of you that think that the Nova is too tart.  The Nova red raspberry jam that we made this winter was outstanding, however, and reminded me of jam from the fall raspberry Heritage that we used to grow.

Pumpkins & Fall Decorations
It was a difficult pumpkin year due to dry & hot weather but we still managed come in slightly above last year despite running out of completely orange carving pumpkins the last two days of the season.  Pumpkin size overall was lower, however, and some of the new varieties that we tried were big disappointments.  We continued to have serious difficulties growing the little orange "troll" mini pumpkins due to Watermelon Mosaic Virus (WMV) and may have to eliminate this item from the troll's handouts in 2007.

Dried Gourds 
Excellent sales of dried gourds in 2006 coupled with serious early freeze damage to 2007 green crop may make for overall lower availability in 2007.  The early October freeze caught some green gourds in a very active growing state and resulted in excessive field spoilage in November & December.  We will have a better idea of dried gourd availability by early summer.

Just in case you are interested in getting an early start on fall decorations,

Lakeview Farms will be opening for decorative corn, gourds, squash, pumpkins, corn stalks and straw sales starting Monday, September 18, weather permitting.

Almost all items are now available but there are some exceptions such as
Fairytale Pumpkins, Wee-Be-Little mini pumpkins, Cotton Candy white pumpkins, Green gourds, and Jack-Be-Little mini pumpkins which probably will not be ready until late September.  If you are looking for a specific item, check out our website for a detailed rundown on availability. This looks like an exceptionally good year for our huge prizewinner pumpkins despite a late planting date.

Dried Gourds
A large collection of dried gourds (both large and medium sized) is now available for sale although the huge bushel basket gourds are in very short supply. 

Raspberries
We do have a limited supply of Nova red raspberries for those who arrive early each day.  Although we now have 600 feet of reasonably productive fall fruiting Nova, I would not suggest making a special trip to the farm just to pick raspberries. Like last year we'll operate on self check-in & check-out and no recorded crop report on the phone or website. Picking is on a first come/first served basis. 

Fun Things for Kids

Most of the other fun things for kids like the corn maze, troll's trail, sorghum maze, diamond digs, gold & silver prospecting, treasure hunts are available during normal business hours. Like last year, the Hay Pyramid is a little behind schedule and probably will not be ready for another week or so.  Keep in mind that we are closed Sundays in September and closed Mondays in early October. The Pumpkin Troll will be on duty starting in September 30 on Saturday & Sunday afternoon from 12 Noon to 4 PM.

Ages 12 to 15 Keep in mind that Lakeview Farms does all its teenage hiring only once per year -- in September. If your son or daughter has thought about working at Lakeview Farms, now is the time to let us know that you are interested.  Check out our website Employment.htm for more details.  To be considered for teenage fall 2006 hiring we must receive their online application by August 5, 2006.

Ages 9-12
Those who might be interested in being a troll can apply for the trolls job via email to  troll@lakeview-farms.com .  For information on our Lakeview Farm's Pumpkin troll check out :Employment.htm and  VisitTheTroll.htm  .  In mid August, 2006 I will begin developing a work schedule.  Priority will be given first to prior year trolls in good standing then new personnel in the order of when I received your email.

Adults & College Students
We may need additional adult field supervision help (showing people where to pick berries) for the 2007 berry season (mornings from mid May until the end of June).  This job does involves a lot of walking, and working with our strawberry & raspberry customers, however.   If this sounds like something you would like to do, send an email to mail@lakeview-farms.com (don't hit the reply to this email or it will end up in a stack of over 100 "return to sender" emails).   In April 2007, I will begin developing a work schedule.  Priority will be given first to existing employees then new personnel in the order of when I received your email.

RASPBERRIES
It's raspberry time at Lakeview Farms!  For the last week we have been allowing red raspberry picking  to early morning strawberry customers but picking has been mostly scattered up until today.   My best guess right now is that the peak of the raspberry season will be June 10 thru 24.  Keep in mind that it's always a good idea early in the season to call before you come just in case customers are coming faster than the berries are ripening which forces us to close early.  Our new golden yellow raspberry, Anne, is just starting to become available. 
 
STRAWBERRIES
There are still a few strawberries available for picking but the size is smaller.   The rains of the last week or so have been pretty tough on some of the ripe berries and customers must be selective about the berries that they pick which slows down picking.  Our strawberry season will probably end a little earlier than last year. 

SUNDAY PICKING
We are open Sundays in  June from 8:30AM until 1:00 PM for those families who can't come early in the morning during weekdays or Saturday

Strawberry time is coming a little early to Lakeview Farms.

Overall, it looks like a good strawberry crop.  Our current plans are to have the traditional "early bird" picking Monday, May 15.  We will open slightly later than normal (at 8:00 AM) and close when we run out of berries or noon -- whichever comes first.  Since it is still early in the season, picking will be scattered -- a few berries here and there so I would not recommend going with the expectation of picking large quantities of berries.  If you need just a few fresh-from-the-farm berries this "early bird" picking might be just right for you.  Early in the season it is always a good idea (particularly if you are coming later in the morning) to call the farm right before you drive out to get an up-to-date status report on strawberry availability and picking conditions.

For a good rundown on the varieties that we grow and their relative strengths & weaknesses see: StrawberryVarietiesCombined.htm . Check  StrawberryCropReport.htm for more information on how long the season is expected to last.  Our hours and days open are listed in StrawberrySeason.htm

Peak strawberry picking should be the last week of May and the first week of June.

2005 turned out to be one of those rare years when the weather cooperated to produce an excellent season in all crops.

Strawberries
While 2005 was not a record crop, we would need to go back as far as the 1980's when Lakeview Farms had 3 times the current acreage of Strawberries to find something comparable.  Customer response to the huge Cabot continues to be good and we will probably shift our acreage heavily in this direction for the future.

Raspberries
While our acreage of summer raspberries has declined slightly over the years, our new planting of the very productive Nova/Reveille mild winter conditions combined to produce a record Raspberry season.  I am a little concerned, however, about the crop in 2006 as the new cane growth in 2005---where the crop will come from this year---does not look as vigorous as it should.  It is possible that we should have irrigated more during the droughty summer period when most of the new cane growth occurs.

Pumpkins, Gourds, Squash & Fall Decorations
While Watermelon Mosaic Virus continued to plague certain varieties and the dry weather contributed to smaller than normal pumpkin size, 2005 was yet another excellent year.  Demand for dried gourds seem to be increasing and we should have our best supply ever available for sale this September.

Just in case you are interested in getting an early start on fall decorations, Lakeview Farms will be opening for decorative corn, gourds, squash, pumpkins, corn stalks and straw sales starting Saturday, September 17, weather permitting.

Almost all items are now available but there are some exceptions such as Fairytale Pumpkins, Cinderella Squash and most specialty gourds which probably will not be ready until late September.  If you are looking for a specific item, check out our website for a detailed rundown on availability. This looks like an exceptionally good year for our usually temperamental white Lumina pumpkins and huge prizewinner pumpkins.

New Items

We have added a uniquely colored squash squash called One-To-Many that has white ribs on a orange back ground

A good collection of dried gourds (both large and medium sized) is now available for sale although the few mini gourds and huge bushel basket gourds that we had were snapped up by "early bird" customers.

We've also added a  new large orange squash called Sunshine that looks very striking and a smaller red squash with a dark center -- appropriately called "Red Eye".

New also for 2005 is a very tasty oriental Kabocha type squash called Sweat Mama and a  very pretty and stringless edible white squash called Bush Delicata. Check our web sites for more information and a picture of each.

Raspberries

We do have a limited supply of Nova red raspberries for those who arrive early each day.  Although we now have 600 feet of reasonably productive Nova, I would not suggest making a special trip to the farm just to pick raspberries. Like last year, this will be a "no frills"  u-pick experience with self check-in & check-out and no recorded crop report on the phone or website.  Picking is on a first come/first served basis.

Fun Things for Kids

Be sure to have the young kids pay a visit to our cute white ducks--unlike the Canadian Geese these domestic ducks are quite comfortable around kids and love being hand fed treats like bread or corn maze corn.

Most of the other fun things for kids like the corn maze, troll's trail, sorghum maze, diamond digs, gold & silver prospecting, treasure hunts are available during normal business hours. The Hay Pyramid will not be ready for another week or so.  Keep in mind that we are closed Sundays in September and closed Mondays in early October. The Pumpkin Troll will be on duty starting in October on Saturday & Sunday afternoon from 12 Noon to 4 PM.

If you, your son, or daughter have thought about working at Lakeview Farms, now is the time to let us know that you are interested.  Check out our website Employment.htm for more details.

9-12 Year olds who have applied for the trolls job via email during the last 7 months of 2005 will unfortunately need to resend their emails to troll@lakeview-farms.com .  For some unknown reason, all emails sent to troll@lakeviewfarms.com were never forwarded and ended up somewhere in the "black hole" of the internet.  I apologize for this inconvenience.

Applications for teenage work direct from our website ApplicationForEmployment08.aspx seem to be working fine and getting to the right place but keep in mind that we only hire in September so it is critical that your son or daughter's application be received by the end of August if they wish to be considered for employment.

Although we did "survive" without Ric Banholzer's fine adult field supervision help this berry season,  things did get a little chaotic -- particularly the first two weeks of June.  We probably need to add at least one or two adult field supervisors in 2006 for weekday mornings from Mid May to the end of June.  This job does involves a lot of walking ,and working with our strawberry & raspberry customers, however.   If this sounds like something you would like to do, send an email to mail@lakeview-farms.com (don't hit the reply to this email or it will end up in a stack of over 100 "return to sender" emails).

SUNDAY PICKING
Keep in mind that we are open Sunday, June 12 and Sunday June 19 from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM for those families who can't come early in the morning during the weekdays or Saturday.

RASPBERRIES
It's raspberry time at Lakeview Farms!  While we have been allowing picking of our very early varieties Reveille and Nova for the last week to early morning strawberry customers, our main variety, Camby,  is just now starting to ripen which means we should have an excellent supply of berries for the whole month of June.  As always, it's always a good idea early in the season to call before you come just in case customers are coming faster than the berries are ripening.  Our new golden yellow raspberry, Anne, should start to become available about June 10.  KEEP IN MIND THAT THERE WILL AGAIN BE NO LATE SEASON RASPBERRY CROP IN 2005.

STRAWBERRIES
2005 is shaping up to be the best strawberry crop we have had in over 15 years. We continue to have an excellent supply of Cabot, Darselect, and Mira available for picking although the Darselect size is now medium and the Mira small but very pretty.  If mother nature continues to cooperate like she has for the last 2½ weeks, we should have strawberries for at least another 1½ weeks.  Up until the last few hot days, the weather has been ideal for strawberries--cool and dry.

It's strawberry time again at Lakeview Farms. Overall, it looks like an excellent strawberry crop again. Our current plans are to have the traditional "early bird" picking Saturday, May 21. We will open at 7:30 AM and close when we run out of berries. Since it is still early in the season, picking will be scattered -- a few berries here and there so I would not recommend trying to pick large quantities of berries.  If you need just a few fresh-from-the-farm berries this "early bird" picking might be just right for you.   As always, it might be a good idea (particularly if you are coming later in the morning) to call the farm right before you drive out to get an up-to-date status report on strawberry availability and picking conditions.

For picking on Monday the choice will probably be limited to Darselect.  For a good rundown on the varieties that we grow and their relative strengths & weaknesses see: StrawberryVarietiesCombined.htm

Here is a short rundown on what's new at Lakeview Farms for 2005:

Strawberries

We are roughly 5 weeks away from the start of our strawberry season -- very similar to last year.  There are two new blocks of the very large Cabot and two new blocks of DarSelect so you should so you should be able to pick lots of berries in just a short time.  Since the first year Cabot berries are always the biggest, we will probably have some sort of contest for the kids to see who can pick the biggest berry. Pictures and berry weights will be posted on our web site after the season is over.  Here is a cute picture of Sam from 2003

If mother nature cooperates with some nice sunny weather, we should also see some improvement in berry flavor over last year.  We had to plow up almost all the Mesabi due to poor performance but our overall strawberry acreage is up from last year. 

Raspberries

For 2005 our 6 new blocks of Nova and Reveille raspberries plus excellent winter survival of Camby and Anne should combine for one of our best June raspberry seasons in the last several year.  Don't miss out!

Pumpkins and Fall Decorations:

It has been a difficult winter keeping the squirrels away but it looks as if we should have a nice selection of very small (Nigerian mini) thru huge (African Wine Kettle) dried gourds available for "crafty" decorating people this fall.  Unfortunately, the very popular giant bushel basket gourds were sold out.

For 2005 we will have a strikingly blue squash from Australia called Queensland Blue, a few exhibition sized Atlantic Giant pumpkins (over 300 lbs.), and a very popular  Kabocha type squash (Sweet Mama) for oriental cooking.

There may be snow on the ground and the temperature outdoors hovering below freezing but "indoor" work goes on at Lakeview Farms during the winter as well. 

Newsletter Renewal
In the last two years a large increase in the size of our mail list coupled with the efforts of ISP's to stem the plague of spam have combined to increase the difficulty of sending you an email at the start of each harvest season. We are evaluating several alternatives (like this mailing) which involve varying degrees of $ and time involved for setup and maintenance - this may mean that we will need to move (as we did with postcards 20 years ago) to a more restrictive distribution list. You should notice that we now have the capability to send individual emails so your address does not appear in a block of 80 or so.

What You Need to Do -Important
If you haven't found our 4 to 5 emails (per year) useful - click on the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of this email to request removal -- keep in mind, however, this will not remove you from our post card mail list unless you specifically request removal via a separate email to the main email contact address at the bottom of this email.

If you are interested in continuing to receive our newsletter it might be wise to check future emails and click any "confirm subscription" links that may be built into our email as a means of cutting down distribution.

If you don't keep a white list, you can skip this next paragraph.
As we evaluate several alternatives, it is possible that the next email that you receive from us may not show lakeviewnews@att.net as the "from" address.We may  use the address of one of our new host domains so If you maintain a white list be sure to send us an email to lakeviewfarms@att.net to let us know that we need to notify you individually of the new "from" address. If you are currently plagued with spam and phishing, consider switching to your ISP's web based mail - there are some powerful tools available now that allow you to individually "train" your email screener.

Other News
We're also giving our web site a complete makeover to make it easier for you to find us with search engines like google and yahoo. Most of this work will not be evident to your browser and essentially be "under the hood". If you haven't heard about Google Maps and Yahoo local--give them a try. These two local search engines have some big holes now but will eventually become very powerful tools you can use to find businesses or services in your local area - they are particularly useful when you don't know what yellow page category a business is listed in.

Our 2004 berry season was pretty much average (could have been better; could have been worse) I thought that the flavor of all the strawberry varieties in 2004 was only fair but it could be just old age with diminished sense of smell and taste or it could have been the excessive rains at midseason. Raspberries suffered some winter damage (unfortunately normal) but produced a satisfactory crop.

Our 2004 pumpkin sales set another record but WMV (a plant virus) caused lower than normal yields forcing us to actually purchase a small portion of our pumpkins from another grower. There is no known way to avoid WMV which is transmitted by aphids who have just fed on an infected host plant (legumes like clover are aphids' favorite food). There are no pumpkin, squash, or gourd plants with total genetic resistance. Fortunately, WMV does not persist in the soil like strawberry black root rot.

What's ahead for 2005
I plan to send out an extra newsletter in February or March with a description of what's new for 2005.

 September 16, 2004

Just in case you are interested in getting an early start on fall decorations, Lakeview Farms will be opening for decorative corn, gourds, squash, pumpkins, corn stalks and straw sales starting Friday, September 17, weather permitting.  Almost all items are now available but there are some exceptions such as Fairytale Pumpkins, Mystic Plus Pie Pumpkins and some specialty gourds such as Caveman’s Club, and Snake which probably will not be ready until late September.  If you are looking for a specific item, check out our website for a detailed rundown on availability. 

 New Items

We have added a new white Pumpkin called Cotton Candy that has ribs like a more traditional pumpkin – and appears to hold up much, much better than the very temperamental Lumina.  We’ve also added a new large pumpkin called Aladdin that looks like a very large Magic Lantern.

 New also for 2004 is a really huge bushel basket gourd that would really add some pizzazz to your home fall decoration display – if you have “good help” lifting it into your car!  The new miniature Nigerian Bottle gourds should also be a big hit for 2004.

 Pictures of the new 2004 additions will be posted to our web site by Sunday.

 Raspberries

 We do have a limited supply of Nova red raspberries for those who arrive early each day.  Although we now have 600 feet of Nova versus the 150 feet last year, I would not suggest making a special trip to the farm just to pick raspberries.  Like last year, this will be a “no frills”  u-pick experience with self check in / check out and no recorded crop report on the phone or website. 

 Fun Things for Kids

Be sure to have the young kids pay a visit to our new cute white ducks—unlike the Canadian Geese these domestic ducks are quite comfortable around kids.   Most of the other fun things for kids like the corn maze, sorghum maze, diamond digs, gold & silver prospecting, treasure hunts are available during normal business hours. The Hay Pyramid is a little behind schedule and probably will not be ready until next Tuesday, September 20.  Keep in mind that we are closed Sundays in September and closed Mondays in October. The Pumpkin Troll will be on duty starting in October on Saturday & Sunday afternoon from 12 Noon to 4 PM (except for October 31).

June1, 2004

Raspberries

It’s raspberry time at Lakeview Farms!  While we have been allowing picking of our very early varieties Reveille and Nova for the last week to early morning strawberry customers, our main variety, Camby,  is just now starting to ripen and will be available to customers on a first come first serve basis each morning.  As always, it’s always a good idea early in the season to call before you come just in case customers are coming faster than the berries are ripening.  If you plan on coming out specifically for large quantities of red raspberries you may want to wait for the peak of the season which should be the second and third week of June.   Our new golden yellow raspberry, Anne, should start to become available about June 10. 

 KEEP IN MIND THAT THERE WILL BE NO LATE SEASON RASPBERRY CROP IN EITHER 2004 OR 2005. 

 Strawberries

While we are still at the peak of our strawberry season, the wet weather has been very tough on our strawberry crop.  While some varieties have been affected more than others, all varieties have been impacted and you will need to be very selective about what you pick.   Excessive water like we have had for the last eight days causes normally firm berries to soften prematurely in warm weather.   Despite all the bad weather there is still a good supply of green berries on our late Cabot, Mira, and Mesabi that will produce excellent fruit if Mother Nature cooperates for the next week or so.

Teenage Employment

Just a quick reminder:  If your teenage son or daughter is interested in working at Lakeview Farms they need to apply by mid July to ensure that they are considered for fall hiring which begins in September.  For more information go to our web site listed below and click on employment.  Applications must be submitted online from our website.  Sons and daughters of my regular berry customers who live in the vicinity of our farm are given preferential consideration.

May 16, 2004

Strawberries

 It's strawberry time again at Lakeview Farms.  Overall, it looks like an excellent strawberry crop again.  While our strawberry season will formally get underway some time during the period May 18 to May 21 (with normal hours and a full staff), our current plans are to have the traditional "early bird" picking Monday, May 17.  For Monday only we will open at 8:00 AM and close when we run out of berries.  Since it is still early in the season, I would not recommend trying to pick large quantities of berries but if you need just a few delicious fresh-from-the-farm berries this "early bird" picking might be just right for you.  As always,  it might be a good idea (particularly if you are coming later in the morning) to call the farm right before you drive out to get an up-to-date status report on strawberry availability and picking conditions.  We have eliminated two of our older varieties (Allstar & Earliglo) and added three new ones – check out our web site below for more detailed information on each new variety.  For picking on Monday the choice will probably be limited to Darselect

 With the hotter weather we have had during bloom time, I am expecting a much more compressed (shorter) harvest season – with picking ending about mid June so don’t wait too long.  Check our web site listed below for more information and pictures of our newest varieties.

 Hall of Fame (or Infame as the case may be)

 For those of you who have worked at Lakeview Farms in the past or have a son, daughter, neighbor, or friend who has….check out the web site “Hall of Fame” for some interesting stories regarding previous employees.   At last count there were over twenty five stories written and several more in process.

Just in case you are wondering what’s going on here at Lakeview Farms:

 Strawberries

Our Strawberry season in 2003 was one of the best we have had in several years due to excellent weather.  The huge Cabot strawberries were a big hit and we will be planting additional acreage in 2004.

 The good news is that three new varieties will be available for picking in 2004:  Darselect, Mesabi, and Mira.  Check out our website (click on Strawberries then varieties we grow) for pictures and flavor characteristics of these new Strawberries.   The bad news for 2004 is that we have had to plow up two of our older varieties (Earliglo and Allstar) that had a very loyal customer following.  While none of the three new varieties will be quite as flavorful as Earliglo, Darselect will come pretty close.  All three new varieties will be good sized (but not as big as Cabot) and have excellent freezing qualities which Allstar lacked. 

 Raspberries

Our early season Raspberry crop was generally pretty good in 2003.  The two new varieties customers sampled in 2003, Reveille and Nova, seemed to get mixed reviews.  Reveille looks very similar in size and flavor to our old standby variety Camby, but is slightly softer and more prone to sunburn.  I thought Nova was an excellent tasting berry but some customers felt it was a little too tart and difficult to pick unless completely ripe.  Both new raspberries seemed much less susceptible to winter injury than Camby which is a major problem when temperatures in the winter dip into the single digits which unfortunately happens here more often than not.   For 2004 we will plant additional acreage of both Nova and Reveille for lack of another good alternative to Camby.

 We continued to have serious size problems on our Heritage late season raspberry for the third year in a row and I am afraid we will need to plow up this variety as well.  Heritage is a great tasting raspberry but unfortunately matures in the hottest part of our St. Louis summers (mid July thru early September).  There appears to be a good replacement for Heritage on the horizon from Maryland called “Deborah” but plants won’t be available until 2005 at the earliest.

 Fall Decorations & Pumpkins

Early frosts shortened the pumpkin growing season so Pumpkins were slightly smaller than last year but quality was excellent. For people looking for the “really huge pumpkin” and capable of getting it into their vehicle, the new Prizewinner pumpkins were a winner.  We managed to keep a good inventory of most items throughout the season but the shelves got a little lean the last two days before Halloween.  Overall, we had an excellent season once again.  The new squash, decorative broom corn, and gourd varieties were well received (except for the bicolor lil-pump-ke-mon which only I seemed to like).  For 2004 we will have over 50 different items available for sale.  New items for 2004 will include two new interesting white squashes with red/pink and orange/red stripes.

 Fun Things for Kids

My creative side took a holiday in 2003 with no major new activities but I have some interesting ideas for 2004….. Look out!

 September 14, 2003

Just in case you are interested in getting an early start on fall decorations, Lakeview Farms will be opening for decorative corn, gourds, squash, pumpkins, corn stalks and straw sales starting Monday, September 16, weather permitting.  Almost all items are now available but there are some exceptions such as White Lumina and Fairytale Pumpkins, Speckled Swan and African Wine Kettle gourds which probably will not be ready until early October.  If you are looking for a specific item, check out our website for a detailed rundown on availability or……. Just come out and browse our collection and take home a free large gourd and squash (see the offer below).

 New Items

We have practically doubled our selection of items available for sale in 2003.  Some of the major additions are:

 Prizewinner Giant (100 lb.+) pumpkins  (I have finally caved in to customer demand to grow this huge monstrosity that you normally find at Romachs in Chesterfield but I am not sure how customers are going to get these pumpkins home)

 Decorative (and edible) Squash: we have added 5 new very large squash varieties with real eye appeal that would be suitable for a spectacular outdoor or indoor display.  A new, smaller acorn squash, Celebration, has a striking orange stripe on yellow background.

 Heirloom Pumpkins: Those of you who tried the old heirloom pumpkin Long Island Cheese last year probably found out that it lasted forever.  We actually had a few left over in the field that were still in good shape up to Christmas 2002.  For 2003, two additional heirloom pumpkins: Cinderella (deep orange red) and Fairytale (buckskin brown) have also been added.  Both are reported to have good keeping qualities.

 Free large Gourd and large Squash Giveaway

We have planted several new squash and gourd varieties and would like to give people the opportunity of using them in their fall decorations so we are giving away a large gourd (your choice of either: Italian snake, Caveman’s Club, Bushel Basket, Apple, or Dipper/Birdhouse) plus some pretty spectacular large decorative squash (your choice of either: Cushaw Green & Orange Stripe, Blue & Orange Magic, or Red Warty Thing).  The only two requirements for this free offer: bring a copy of this email and come in the month of September.  Pictures of nearly all these items are shown on our website www.lakeview-farms.com click on pumpkins/fall decorations, then varieties we grow.

 Fun Things for Kids

All of our fun things for kids like the straw pyramid, corn maze, sorghum maze, diamond digs, gold & silver prospecting, treasure hunts …. are available during normal business hours either week day or week end.  The Pumpkin Troll will be on duty starting in October every Saturday & Sunday afternoon from 12 Noon to 4 PM.

July 18, 2003

Red Raspberries

Our delicious late season raspberries will be available for picking this Saturday, July 19, starting at 8:00 AM.  Picking is usually scattered the first few days and berry availability can be limited so if you are coming later in the morning it would be a good idea to call before you come just to be sure we still have a good supply of berries.  Overall, the crop looks very similar to last year in quantity and quality.  During the hotter days of July and August we will need to shut down about 11:00 AM to begin misting the berries to prevent sunburn.  Sunburn on late red raspberries is usually more of a cosmetic problem (white spots) and does not usually affect quality or taste.  For more information and some good raspberry recipes, go to our website listed below.

 Yellow Raspberries

Despite my best efforts to delay ripening by permitting June fruiting, the yellow raspberries are unfortunately coming in about the same time as last year ( Now, in the heat of the summer ).  We found that the yellow raspberry foliage is very susceptible to leaf spot (similar to rose leaf spot) so the usual technique for preventing sunburn, misting with overhead irrigation, is not feasible.  Some other way to keep the berries cool will need to be found or serious fruit softness will be a problem like last year.  Any ideas would be appreciated.

 Teenage Employment

Just a quick reminder:  If your teenage son or daughter is interested in working at Lakeview Farms they need to apply by mid August to ensure that they are considered for fall hiring which begins in September.  For more information go to our web site listed below and click on employment.  Applications must be submitted online from our website.  Sons and daughters of my regular berry customers who live in the vicinity of our farm are given preferential consideration.

June 7, 2003

Raspberries

It’s raspberry time at Lakeview Farms!  While we have been allowing picking of our very early variety Reveille for the last week to early morning strawberry customers, our main variety, Camby,  is just now starting to ripen and will be available to customers on a first come first serve basis each morning.  If you plan on coming out specifically for large quantities of red raspberries I suggest waiting for the peak of the season which should be June 10 to June 25 and call before you come.   Our new golden yellow raspberry, Anne, should start to become available about June 15. 

 Strawberries

The cool wet weather has helped create one of the best strawberry crops we have had in the last ten years.  The huge Cabot strawberries are now at their peak and a good supply of the medium sized Allstar is still available.  There is still a good supply of the sweet Earliglo but picking is slow due to the small size. 

 Open Sunday June 8

Due to the bumper crop of Strawberries we will have our first Sunday picking (in several years) tomorrow, June 8, from 12 Noon to 4:00 PM.

It's strawberry time again at Lakeview Farms.  Overall, it looks like an
excellent strawberry crop.

While our strawberry season will formally get underway Monday, May 19, with
normal hours and a full staff, our current plans are to also have the
traditional  "early bird" picking Saturday, May 17.  For Saturday we will
open at 8:00 AM and close when we run out of berries.  Since it is still
early in the season, I would not recommend trying to pick large quantities
of berries but if you need just a few delicious Earliglo before peak berry
time this "early bird" picking might be just right for you.

Early in the season, it might be a good idea (particularly if you are
coming later in the morning) to call the farm right before you drive out to
get an up-to-date status report on strawberry availability and picking
conditions.  Our web site listed below is also an excellent source of more
detailed information.

Due to the limited supply of blackberries this year at Lakeveiw Farms we
will need to take steps to insure our regular blackberry customers get an
opportunity to pick.

 We will open for blackberry picking only two or three times per week.  One
of these days will be Saturday or Sunday.  For the first two hours,  picking
will be restricted to only those customers who have received 2001 blackberry
cards from us and bring them when they pick!  Blackberry cards will be
mailed out on a staggered basis with the most loyal Blackberry customers
getting their cards first.  After the first 2 hours, if we still have
berries available, we will open the field to customers who (according to our
farm records)  picked blackberries last year but have not received their
card yet.  Our records indicate that you picked blackberries at our farm
last year.  We should have an idea of whether extra berries will be
available by 8:30 AM so you may call to check out the situation if you are
interested in picking before you receive your blackberry card.

I do not (at this time) anticipate preventing  blackberry card customers
from bringing their usual friends/family, limiting the quantity of
blackberries picked, or prohibiting return visits.

If the Blackberry situation turns out better than anticipated, we may open
the fields later in the season to new blackberry customers or old "fallen
away" blackberry customers who we have not seen in a while.  Keep in mind
that there are several other farms that also have Pick-Your-Own
Blackberries.   For a list of these farms, go to our web site
www.lakeview-farms.com and click on "Ask Farmer Carl" then click on
"other farms in the St. Louis area" then click on "Blackberries".

Our first day of Blackberry picking will be on Thursday, June 21, starting
at 7:00 AM.  Our second day of picking will be Saturday, June 23 starting at
7:00 AM.  Early picking, as I mentioned above, will be limited on a first
come basis to only customers who have recieved 2001 Blackberry cards from us
.  Obviously, if you are planning on arriving later in the morning it would
be a good idea to call right before you leave.  Our test picker ( Margaret )
reported scattered blackberry picking last Sunday, June 17, and berry size
smaller than normal for Shawnee.

Lakeview farms is a family oriented pick your own ( PYO, u-pick ) strawberry, raspberry, and pumpkin farm / pumpkin patch located in St. Charles County Missouri ( MO ) near O'Fallon and St. Peters which is in the St. Louis metro area.  If you are searching for a farm like ours (or Farmer's Market) in the St. Louis area, place your mouse on the "ask farmer Carl" in the left index then "where can I find a u-pick  farm".

If you live outside of the St. Louis metro area, your state agricultural university ( like: Purdue, Cornell, Michigan State, Univ. California at Davis, Ohio State, Penn State, University of Maine, Iowa State, Nebraska, Kansas State, Clemson, Univ. Maryland, Rutgers (NJ), Univ. Mass, Virginia Tech, and the Univ. Wisconsin....)  extension service may have an online or hard copy publication listing the farms in your area.  Failing that, here are some nation wide web sites that you could try:

Local Harvest:  www.localharvest.org  This California based service is probably the best source but leans heavily toward organic production.  This is also an excellent source for Farmer's Markets.

www.pickyourown.org  J.B. Slemmer of Atlanta, GA created this site which looks pretty good for some parts of the US.  J.B. (Blake) also has a sister site  http://www.pumpkinpatchesandmore.org/ that lists pumpkin patches.  Both sites have very high traffic (hits) so this appears to be a site that lots of people are using.

One of the newest and fastest growing "find it" sites (not yet as complete as I would prefer) is Map Muse www.mapmuse.com . Click on "family fun" then "Pick Your Own Fruits and Vegetables" or "Pumpkin Patches".

If you live in Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, or Nebraska a good source of information is the Market Maker: http://www.marketmaker.uiuc.edu/ 

Don't forget the standard search engine's "local map" search capability: http://www.google.com/maps and http://maps.yahoo.com/index.php#env=F .  Type in your home zip code, the word "farm" and whatever fruit you are looking for.

Virtual Farm: www.v-farm.com. This Canadian service has lots of USA fruit and vegetable farm listings but I am not sure you can tell which farms are open to the public for pick you own ( PYO, u-pick, u pick ). V-Farm  is particularly strong in cattle, goats, sheep, and smaller animals.  Unfortunately, this site is not updated as frequently as it should be so some of the information could be dated.