Concord Ridge Fruit Farms

Concord Ridge Fruit Farms is now open for the 2012 season with our fresh homegrown asparagus!! It has been a challenging spring as we continue to have large swings in temperature so some of the crops are a bit confused, but we are hoping that temperatures will begin to return to normal.  As most of you know, we had an unusually warm spell in March with temps. in the 80′s which pushed most crops into bloom. This was followed by cold temperatures in early April with some nights below 32 degrees. This did cause some damage to our fruit crops, but we are still hoping for a successful year! We are selling our asparagus for $1.50 per lb. and offer a 10 lb. or more quantity discount!! We are open every day from 9a.m.-6p.m. while quantity lasts.

Our strawberries are coming along nicely and way ahead of schedule as most everything will be early this year. Most of our strawberries are now in bloom which normally means we should have strawberries in 2-3 weeks if we consistently have warm temperatures. Terry has frost irrigated our strawberries many nights as temps. have dipped into the twenties to low thirties. Thanks to his efforts, we are hoping this has prevented any damage and are looking forward to a wonderful crop of strawberries!

Strawberries in bloom on April 20th!

Unseasonably warm temps lead to an early bloom of our sweet cherry orchard on March 25th!

Well, as I’m sure most of you know winter came and went very quickly this year. I heard lots of people say (including myself) that if all winters could be like this one, we could handle Michigan winters  just fine. Although everyone enjoyed the mild temps, I don’t think anyone was prepared for the unseasonably warm temperatures we have been experiencing during the month of March! Southwest Michigan had 9 days of record breaking temperatures in a row in the upper 70′s and low 80′s! Our daffodils began blooming in early March with the Forcithia bushes and now the Redbud trees right behind. By mid March, I saw lots of people out doing yard work and mowing their lawn…unbelievable!!! This put us in a rush to get everything trimmed prior to bud break. According to MSU’s climatologist, we are 10 times warmer than the warmest Spring on record which was 1945. What these warmer than normal temps mean to you is… early crops! Asparagus could begin first week of April, with strawberries sometime in early May, cherries in June rather than July, etc!!! Stay tuned as I will post when all the crops are ready. We hope to continue this

Terry mowing off the raspberries to allow for re-growth of this year's crop!

trend through April and avoid a frost. We look forward to seeing everyone again this year!

A cozy shelter for our feathered friends!

Happy New Year to all!  Wishing all of our customers a happy and healthy 2012! I think everyone really enjoyed our mild December with just a trace of snowfall.  But unfortunately all good things have to come to an end. Today, Southwest Michigan got hammered with our first lake effect snow event with strong winds, bitter cold temps, and significant snowfall. We are thankful that we did get alot accomplished in the month of December because of the mild weather such as trimming apple trees and grape vines.  Even though no one likes the cold temperatures, the crops do need to “rest” before they wake up again in the spring. We are just hoping it does not get too terribly cold!

The first snowfall is always a beautiful one so we hope you enjoy these pictures of our farm!

First snowfall of the year covers our freshly trimmed vineyard.

After an unusually mild December, we finally get our first snow storm on Jan. 2nd!

We have officially closed for the 2011 season. Thank you to all of our loyal customers who come back each year to visit. We met a lot of new customers this year, too, and hope to see everyone back next Spring when asparagus season begins! Even though it was a very late Spring, it really did turn out to be a good year for our crops and for that we are so very thankful.

Beautiful pumpkins available for all of your fall decorating needs!

APPLES- Apple season is now underway at Holloway Orchards! Located right off the US 31 Bypass at exit 7…just look for the big red barns! We are located right off the interchange at the corner of Walton Rd. and Smith Rd.  Current varieties include: Gala, Ozark Gold, Honeycrisp, and Fuji. As the season progresses, we will offer many more varieties.  Hours are 9am-6pm 7 days/week.  Phone number is (269)695-5069.

Michigan apples ready to be picked!

GRAPES-Our concord grapes are very close to being ready. We expect to be picking our grapes by the last week in Sept.  We sell our grapes in 1/2 bushel or jumbo baskets. If you would like to place an order for concord grapes, please give us a call at (269)684-5865. Our price is $15 for a jumbo basket or half bushel.