Budbreak in NC

It's been a busy spring here in NC. Lots of cold weather has left small fruit growers with some sleepless nights. However, spring has arrived and buds are breaking.

Here is a picture of Navaho bud break at the Vollmer Farm in Bunn NC on Monday. I took my HS 422 class there to see strawberries, blueberries and blackberries. We sliced open several blackberry buds, like the one in the picture below and did not see any damage.  The crop appears to be later than usual,  we usually see leaves that are larger and in some years, flowers have been open by the 1st of April (no fooling').

Navaho bud break March 31, 2014, Bunn NC.

The week before, I participated in the Foothills Farm School, and as part of that training for beginning and transitioning farmers, we visited Maple Spring Farms in Dallas NC. They are one of the few farms that has matted row strawberries and Kiowa blackberries. Their Kiowa blackberries were at about the same stage of bud break as the farm in eastern NC. We did see some buds with damage. We also saw secondary buds, so they should still have plenty of berries. 

Kiowa budbreak, March 27, 2014, Dallas, NC.