News and Blog

We are opening for a special upick this Wednesday, September 30th from 5:30 til dark around 7pm.  The cool weather is slowing down ripening but there are good berries and we are so grateful for the sunshine.  Qualla Berry Farm upick will be closed after Wednesday until we return from the National Storytelling Festival.  We have been making a pilgrimage for stories to rejuvenate our spirits for 28 years in Jonesboro, Tennessee.  Our house/dog sitters will be around but unavailable for managing the upick.  The John C Campbell Folk School is having an equally wonderful Fall Fesival this weekend and you can learn more at www.folkschool.org about this event.  We will continue to watch the weather and the berries to keep you posted about the upick.  With luck, the frost will hold off and we will have a big berry picking next week.  Have fun and hope to see you soon.
Thanks,
Karen and John

Berry Lovers!
It's 8 AM Saturday the 26th and the gate is open. Please come pick before the rain gets here. We'll be open til 12 today unless it starts to rain more than a sprinkle. We have lots of nice raspberries!
John & Karen
Qualla Berry Farm

Today I was out in the sunshine picking giant sweet raspberries and so excited because enough were ripe for the upick to open successfully.  Then the rain came again so lots of beautiful berries will again go to mush and John heard there is a 90% chance of rain on Saturday. 

Also, my friend Kara is having a healthy potluck at The Market tomorrow evening and Linda Allen and friends are playing music there from 6 to 8:00.  I will attempt to post more information tomorrow.

Dear Berry Lovers-
Unfortunately it has rained all week and the raspberries are still painfully late in ripening. We are reluctantly postponing our U-Pick opening for Saturday Sept 19th because there are just not enough berries ready.
We will watch things this week and hope for some sunshine and with any luck we will be open on the 26th.
Thanks,
John & Karen
Qualla Berry farm

Our berries are unusually late in coming on this fall, possibly due to the cooler and wetter past month. We will not have enough ripe berries ready by this Saturday Sept 12. As a result, we are postponing our opening for the first U-Pick of the season until Sat Sept 19.

The berries when they come will be a very heavy crop. This is the latest ripening we have seen for a September season. Thanks for your understanding,

John & Karen

Dear Berry Lovers:

With the regular rains this year our berry canes are very strong and the raspberries are about to ripen. We expect to be open for U-Pick, weather permitting, on the following Saturday mornings in September: the 12th, 19th, and 26th. We will send out email confirmation before each opening. If you receive this blog entry by email you are current on our list. If not, you can sign up through the website at www.quallaberryfarm.com

Thanks!

John & Karen

Qualla Berry Farm

3274 Qualla Rd

Hayesville, NC 28904

Our June U-Pick Raspberry season has come to an end. We had one of our best seasons ever due to good rains this spring and good ripening conditions. We hope everyone who picked is enjoying their berries.
The primocanes, which are the new growth, are coming on now will be blooming in August and producing ripe berries by mid-September. We will send out a picking update email and post dates on our website calendar when we know better how things look for the fall.
If you are receiving this email you are current on our amiling list. If you know anybody who didn't get it but would like to get updates please ask them to add their email address though the website.
Thanks again to everyone! It is always fun to meet all of you and appreciate this delicious and healthy fruit together...
John and Karen
Qualla Berry Farm
www,quallaberryfarm.com

Raspberry U-Pick Saturdays June 20 and 27, 9AM til 12 noon. Lots of berries on the brambles!
John & Karen

Berry Lovers!

With all the rain our berries are in really good shape and very productive this year. They are all weeded and mulched and the berries are starting to ripen.

Barring changes due to weather we expect to be open for picking on Saturdays June 13, 20, and 27 from 9AM till noon. There may be other weekday picking hours too; we will keep you posted.

We will also have a number of vigorous new raspberry plants for sale at $5/pot.

Due to an April frost, we will not have enough sour cherries to sell this year. There may be some early blueberries ready overlapping with the raspberry picking dates. The asian pears got hit by the frost too.

But it looks like a good raspberry year and we'll look forward to seeing pickers the next few Saturdays.

Fruitfully,
John Clarke & Karen Hurtubise
Qualla Berry Farm
3274 Quallla Rd
Hayesville, NC 28904
828-389-3551
jkqualla@verizon.net