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Page 12The Country TodayWed., June 10, 1987Menomonie couple started farm venture with strawberriesContinued from Page 1 them and they have been very helpful. he said. They've done a lot of research.The University of Minnesota researchers initiated a blueberry breeding program to develop large fruited, low statured. productive high quality bluebery plants that would withstand bitter cold winters, he explained.Frorji that research came two varieties, Northblue and Northsky. Just this year, the researchers released a third variety, Northcoun-tryThe Schultzs have planned some of the new plant breed along with the Northblue variety.These varieties, Mr. Schultz said, offer what they are looking for, winter hardiness, yield and flavor.What they've done, he said, is cross domestic high bred blueberries with the Minnesota wild low bush berries and have come up with one called a ‘half-high' bush.The major concern, he said, is that they survive the winters particularly when the temperatures drop below 30 to 35 below. You need a lot of snow cover when it gets that cold for them to survive, he said.Although the breed was developed in Minnesota, the Schultzs purchased their stock from a Michigan firm. The stock is called De Grandchamp. They have planted 1,200 plants in an acre field and plan to add another acre next spring.The plants are spaced much differently than the strawberries they are more accustomed to growing. The rows are nine feet across and the plants are spread three and a half feet apart. They have to be that far part because they become very bushy and will stand from 30 to 36 inches high.This is a brand new thing. WeSampling productWally Schultz, who with his wife Mary operates a strawberry farm near Menomonie, samples his product.haven’t done it before so we are learning, Mr. Schultz said.Photo by Steve KindermanIt will take from three to five or maybe six years before the plants are fully developed. Although there were a few blossoms this year, Mr. Schultz said it is best to pick them off for a year or two to enable the root system to develop.One of the real benefits from growing blueberries is that once the bushes are well established, they could produce from 20 to 40 years. Some of them could be producing well after I'm done farming here. Mr. Schultz said.We’ve checked out the market and we feel they will sell, said Mary Schultz who works shoulder to shoulder with her husband and the hired summer help it takes to run a truck garden operation.We plan to have pick-your-own when they are ready but we also will have some ready-picked forother markets, she said.The berries will vary in their ripening period with some on the same branch being ready before the others, according to literature from the university.Planting blueberries requires a different soil preparation than for strawberries, the Schultzs said. For instance, they had to reduce the PH value of the soil from 6 to 4.5 by adding sulfur and by using acid peat that he obtained from Aitkin. Minn. It was mixed and then applied. Also the mulch is from wood bark and that adds acidity to the soil.We go to classes about these crops when we can. The University of Minnesota people have been very good about this even though we are from out of the state, Mr. Schultz said.There are some problems yet to be faced with the blueberry bushesand that is protecting them from animals. Deer can devastate the field and the Schultzs have already started to fence the area and they of course there have been some bear sighted in the Menomonie area, too, he said.Right now. Mary Schultz quipped. Wally has been so busy that he has just been hanging up his sweaty ‘Happy Days’ T-shirt at night and so far that has kept the deer away.”The Schultzs have come by their truck farming operation honestly. Mary Schultz is the daughter of M E. (Myren) Mommsen of Rice Lake, one of the state’s highly regarded potato and strawberry growers.Also Wally Schultz lauded the help from Mary's brothers, Gary, Hugh and John Mommsen in getting started. I still ask them all foradvice,” he said.Essentially, Wally said, it was a visit to their farm by Myren Mommsen that led directly to the Schultzs getting started in the strawberry business. He came down one time and took a shovel of the sandy loam soil and said, this would be great soil for strawber-That suggestion along with the slowness in the home-building industry, where Mr. Schultz was employed. made them decide to take a chance.In 1980 they put in their first strawberry plants and in 1982 they were in the commercial sales busi-Their strawberry plants have been selected from a number ofSchuhs have 1985 top dairy herdFreedomA story in last week’s editions named Willard and Mary Schuh, Freedom, as having the top milking herd in Wisconsin in 1986. Their herd topped the list in 1985.certified growers’ nurseries from North Carolina to California. They also had to prepare the soil for strawberry growing and did this by planting and then plowing under a combination of sorghum and sun-dan grasses. The first year all they did was pick the blossoms as the plants developed.We were looking for a plant that produced good size and had a good flavor. We wanted a good yield, too, because we didn’t want people to crawl all around to fill their pails, he said. We also wanted a variety that they could can or freeze well. said Mrs. Schultz, of the early experiments.The Schultzs have a four-year rotation in their 10-acre patch. Each year they replant one 2'/:-acre plot.The strawberries are sold on a pick-your-own basis at the farm or already-picked berries are available from two vendors in Eau Claire, one in Chippewa Falls and one in Menomonie.There is no comparison withWisconsin fresh strawberries and those that come in from out of state. Wisconsin varieties are just very much better, he said.Although the Schultzs hire some summer help, they also receive assistance from friends who come and stay the summer or others who drop by. We really appreciate how much help these people have been,” said Mary Schultz.Mr. Schultz said they take pride in providing a clean, orderly farm and a good environment for people coming out to pick berries. One example is they have wide rows between the berries and these walkways are covered with mulch and grass to make it easier for customers to walk on.An as it would be expected, the Schultzs aren't exactly idle in the fall either. They plant pumpkins, squash and other produce on other acreage they own or rent and in the fall, with the help of their daughters, Jenny, 10, and Becky, 9, sell a whole yard full’’of produce including potatoes.—Arnie HoffmanWhat they say about hay in BarronBarronThe shortage of rain has clearly taken its toll on first crop hay yields in Barron County, says County Agent Don Drost.Typical of farmers, Mr. Drost said, their sense of humor seems to prevail under practically any adversity. Joking about the weather, he said, appears to make it easier to accept. Here are some examples of what they are saying in Barron County:Visting relative:Gee. it sure looks dry around these parts. How long since you’ve had rain?”From Cumberland: Well, remember in the Bible when it rained 40 days and 40 nights? We got one-fourth inch then.From Prairie Farm: It’s so dry here that when we ran a test on the water, it was only 40 percent moisture.”From Bear Lake: Well. 1 guess it is getting pretty dry. Several of the blue gills I caught the past week had wood ticks on them.From Cameron: The Yellow River is so low now that it is only using one bank.From Chetck: “Last week I spotted a young pine tree following two dogs around.
Newspaper Details
Country Today
Eau Claire, Wisconsin, US
Wed, Jun 10, 1987
Page 12
Full Page
Clipped by
Jennifer P.
USA 28 Feb 2024
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