Spring seems to finally be here for the duration, and our team has finished taking off the winter flood and installing sprinklers. Now, as GM Fred Torres says, “it’s time to focus on growing.” The first seasonal crew has also arrived to help, and as always, we are glad to have them back.
With the warmer weather, of course, come the cooler nights, and as we talked about last week, it’s important that we get the systems ready for our frost team. Our team has been hard at work testing all the systems to make sure they’re ready for the long, cold nights. “Understanding the cost to run the sprinklers and the added stress to the team, it’s an amazing sight to see the sun rising in the background of hundreds of acres of sprinklers working,” says COO Bryan vonHahmann, who is in the middle of witnessing his first growing season. “That sight, along with the understanding that the buds are being protected, is what gets everyone through the night!”
The ICM team is already hard at work scouting growth stages to help determine the temperature at which the frost team should start the sprinklers. They’ve also started their applications; all the one and two year old bogs got their first shot of fertilizer this week.
Last but not least, our latest bog renovation project is going full steam ahead! The old vines have been removed, and the new PVC gates have been installed, replacing the old wooden gates that have been there for years.
The bog reno team has been taking out all the small ditches and starting the land leveling, which will make it a lot easier to flood. As manager Joe Colon pointed out late last year, the previously existing sand layers will make putting in new topsoil easier. “We’re not going to have to do as much with that as we did out at Sim Place.” But as you can see, it’s still keeping him busy!
Bryan has truly become a part of the team and sums things up very neatly: “Bog renovation is critical to us achieving our mission and continuing our tradition of excellence by growing more high-quality cranberries at the lowest cost per barrel.”