Conversations with Yoders' Farm: Recent Episodes
Yoders' Farm
A biweekly conversation around what has been going on here at Yoders' Farm in Rustburg, Virginia. We are a four generation farm providing "Locally grown, gourmet produce & family friendly activities." That includes a PYO Strawberry Patch, Hydroponic Tomatoes, and in the fall we have a Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze.
Time for a quick catch-up from the farm... we're transitioning out of the strawberry, and spring seasons and moving into summer.
As usual, our fall season has been a unique one! In this episode, Lowell and Eldon talk through the planting of the pick-your-own strawberry plants for 2023 and some of the issues around that as well as give a brief recap of the Corn Maze and Pumpkin patch fall season.
A short catch-up episode of what we've been doing here at the Farm for the last month or so... as well as what we're doing at the moment while we work towards getting ready to open for our fall Corn Maze and Pumpkin patch season.
Not a ton to talk about right now... the PYO strawberry patch is closed, and we're working on summer activities like planting the Corn Maze and pumpkins, but overall just a quick catchup for what's going on over here at the farm these days!
In this episode, Lowell and Eldon update you on what all has been going on over the last month or so here at Yoders' Farm, hydroponic tomatoes, field crops, fall stuff, and then go kind of deep on the recap of the 2022 PYO Strawberry Season. Finally, we respond to a listener's question regarding growing pumpkins in the remaining plastic rows after strawberry season.
In this episode, Lowell and Eldon catch up to talk about the past month or so here at the farm. Of particular interest to us recently have been several freezing temperatures that have caused some pretty major damage to our PYO strawberry patch, even though we did all that we could to protect the blooms and buds.
In today's episode, Lowell and Eldon catch up about what has been going on over the last month here at Yoders' Farm. We talk a fair bit about the hydroponic tomatoes at this time of year, as well as the strawberry plants and what we're thinking about right now in relation to the upcoming PYO season.
This is just a short episode about what we're up to on the farm these days. Tomatoes are kind of the main focus (along with the Farm Store), strawberries got some covers pulled over them recently... etc...
In this episode, Lowell and Eldon talk about what's been going on over the past month or so. Although our busy fall pumpkin and corn maze season are over and the pressure of lots of people being on the farm with it, there's always more to be done!
Lowell and Eldon talk about how strawberry planting went, an update on our winter tomato greenhouses, and a summary of how our fall corn maze, pumpkin patch, and snack shack season went and is wrapping up.
In this episode, Lowell and Eldon talk about the first couple of weeks of the Corn Maze & Pumpkin Patch as well as the current project of trying to get all of the strawberries planted. It's a busy time of the year, but we pretty much always say that... and it pretty much always is! :)
In this episode, Lowell and Eldon talk about cleaning out the greenhouses, working on strawberry field prep, the upcoming fall season, the pumpkin patch, the corn maze and a few other odds and ends.
In this episode, Lowell and Eldon discuss a general update from the farm as we enter the summer months and prep for our fall season as well as strawberry planting. After a general update, we dive into the topic of some things that we might consider if we were to buy a farm and start an agritourism operation today.
In this episode, Lowell and Eldon bring you up to date with an overview of how the 2021 PYO season has gone here at Yoders' Farm. There is also some discussion about strawberry varieties for next year, some problems we had with our strawberries this year, and some general farm updates.
In this episode, Lowell and Eldon give an update on what all is going on here at the farm. In particular, a majority of the episode is spent talking about the PYO strawberry patch and some of the things we're doing right now. Towards the end, Lowell talks some about how technology and farming are continuing to be more and more intertwined.
In this episode, Lowell and I (Eldon) talk about what we've been up to around Yoders' Farm the last few weeks. Strawberries and tomatoes are the main things on our minds but the next season is always just around the corner too, so we even talked about Fall a little bit. :)
Lowell and I talk about what has been going on the last few weeks here at the farm. The majority of that includes working with our greenhouse tomatoes and keeping the stoves that heat our greenhouses rolling. We briefly talk about strawberries and several other things as well.
In this episode, Lowell and Eldon mostly talk about how the hydroponic tomato season is going. There are also a few other odds and ends about what we've been up to the last few weeks... Merry Christmas everyone!
In this episode, Lowell & Eldon talk about the end of the fall Corn Maze & Pick Your Own Pumpkin Patch season. We also discuss where things are with the Strawberries as we head into the winter months, and a few other odds and ends.
Lowell and Eldon talk about finally getting the strawberry plants planted and some things we're hoping will help them grow a good root system throughout the remainder of fall and into winter. Then we talked about our fall Corn Maze & Pumpkin Patch season and how that has been going so far.
In this episode, Lowell & Eldon talk about some struggles we've been having with getting our strawberry plants planted this fall before discussing some of what we're doing differently this fall and how the first two weekends of our fall corn maze and pumpkin patch season have gone.
Lowell and Eldon talk about what has happened since the last episode (at the beginning of July). Besides wrapping up sweet corn & greenhouse tomato season, we've been working on soil prep for making strawberry beds, and we're always getting ready for the coming season.
The Strawberry season is behind us. We're working on preparations for the fall corn maze & pumpkin patch season as well as the prep work that has to happen before we can plant strawberries this fall... seems like there is never a dull moment here on the farm. :)
In this episode, Lowell & Eldon talk about a few things that were big question marks heading into the 2020 PYO season and a number of other farm-related topics.
Eldon & Lowell discuss what all has been going on at Yoders' Farm over the past couple of weeks. There was almost a complete week of rain. Strawberry issues to work through. Soybeans to plant and a number of other things that had to happen.
We are currently two weeks into our 2020 Strawberry Season. To say that it has been a bit busy feels like an understatement. We've had lots of demand for strawberries, a frost/freeze event on Mothers Day weekend and now the coming week looks quite rainy...
A quick chat about recent frost events and how a pretty chilly April after a fairly warm winter has affected the pick your own strawberry season here at Yoders' Farm.
In this episode we talk about some things we are considering doing different this year due to the coronavirus. This will likely be a pretty different Pick Your Own strawberry season from what we've been used to in the past, but if you can work with us we'll try to do everything we can to be safe and follow all the proper guidelines.
Lowell and Eldon talk about springs continual arrival, the continued "early" timeline for the pick your own strawberry patch, and several other updates from around the farm. There is also some discussion about how Covid-19 may affect our PYO strawberry season.
In this episode Lowell and I talk a bit about what we've been up to here on the farm the last few weeks and then towards the end of the episode Lowell rants for a bit about some comments from a presidential candidate that recently came to light.
In this episode Lowell and I talk briefly about the past number of weeks and what we've been up to on the farm. We also talk a bit more about the advanced place having such a mild winter can put us in... and the concerns we have for the strawberries when the weather is this mild throughout the winter.
The Snack Shack sometimes feels like its just a "tag on" to everything we do here at the farm, but it take quite a bit of work and we are quite happy with what we are able to offer through its windows! This episode covers a bit of the history as well as what we currently offer.
As soon as we pass the winter equinox it starts to feel like we're ticking right away towards strawberry season. Add a milder winter (so far) to the mix and it feels like we're moving even faster!
Lowell & Delvin dive deeper into the topic of what it takes to produce a high quality green house (hydroponic) tomato.
Lowell & Delvin talk about some of the challenges of growing tomatoes through the winter in a greenhouse. One of the biggest issues is keeping the tomato plants warm enough to grow and bloom.
Lowell & Eldon talk about whats been going on since we wrapped up the fall season here at the farm. The weather has changed, and we are definitely heading into the winter season. That of course means tomatoes in the greenhouse as well as field work and thinking about things we need to work on for spring.
Lowell and Eldon are joined by Delvin for a chat about agritourism at Yoders' Farm as well as a quick look at what is coming up next here at the farm!
Lowell and I talk through the first couple of weeks of the fall season, the pumpkins, the corn maze, how the strawberry plants are doing, the state of the greenhouses, etc.
This is mostly a quick overview of what we've been up to the last few weeks. Planting strawberries. Preparing for the fall season. Pumpkin stuff. Corn Maze stuff. We even managed to talk just a little bit about the Snack Shack.
Lowell and I talk very briefly about what we've been up to the last couple of weeks and then we jump into a brief overview of a new venture that Lowell has been involved with recently, raising honey bees!
In this episode Lowell and I talk about what we've been up to the last couple of weeks here at the Farm. Making beds for strawberries. Planting strawberry tips. Growing pumpkins. Cutting the Corn Maze. This Saturday is our last day being open till we open for the Fall Corn Maze & Pumpkin season in September!
In this episode Lowell and I give a brief overview of the Virginia Strawberry Association preplant meeting we were just at. Then we dive into the topic of strawberry plant propagation, where we get our strawberry tips and plugs and a few more details around that.
In this episode Lowell and I talk about weather, in particular rain, and how it affects us here on the farm. We also talk a bit about what we do to help when it gets too dry, and how "controlling" the elements is part of the reason that we raise tomatoes in a greenhouse.
We've been thinking a lot about fall these days, mostly because we've recently planted the Corn Maze and are working to decide what our design will be this year. Beyond that we're also planting pumpkins and working to prepare the area where we'll be planting strawberries in September. There's always plenty to do around the farm!
This is a quick episode that puts the 2019 strawberry season to bed. After that we discuss sweet corn just a little bit before talking about a few possible future episodes.
In this episode Lowell and I give a quick run down of a bunch of little things that are common misconceptions about strawberry farming, strawberry raising and farming in general. Things like "are all strawberry farmers grumpy" or "rain is great for strawberries" and a number of others.
In this episode Lowell and I give a brief overview of how the Pick-Your-Own strawberry season has gone here in South Central Virginia. Then we dive into the main topic of the episode, strawberry varieties. Lowell gave an overview of several varieties that we grow here at our farm as well as a number that he has tried over the year, and a few that are possible candidates for future tests here in Rustburg.
In this episode Lowell and I give a quick recap of the last couple of weeks since we've been open for Pick-Your-Own strawberry picking. Lowell also walks through what a "normal" day during strawberry season looks like. Finally we talk through several tips about how to pick great strawberries!
On this episode Lowell and I talk through an overview of the "life cycle" of the strawberry cycle. We talk about field preparation, planting, the winter and spring months leading up to opening for pick your own. And then it all starts over again!
This episode is just a quick overview of "who" Yoders' Farm is as well as "what" we do and what we offer to the public.
Not a lot going on in this episode. Just a welcome to the podcast so that we can get things set up within iTunes. :)