Hackert Family Farms

05/29/2020

It’s apple blossom time and that means the bees (and other pollinators) are as busy as, well…bees! A while back we interviewed Dr. Julianna Wilson, an entomologist from Michigan State University about pollinators and their key role in producing . Check it out!
https://youtu.be/GLEU1B3b7K8

05/17/2018

Tart Cherry 🍒 Blossoms are in full bloom today! What a beautiful time of year...🍒🐝🌞

04/19/2018

Here's a litte update on what's happening with the weather and our apple trees!
April 19th and our young trees have been delivered, but we can’t plant until the snow is gone... This spring has been crazy!

Shhh...the apple trees are sleeping under a blanket of snow! Grower Nichole from West Michigan took this picture this morning. Apple growers prefer a later spring warm up, pushing bloom further into May and decreasing the risk for potential frost damage once the blossoms are open.

07/14/2017

Cherry 🍒 Season is underway and won't last very long. Our farm experienced a late freeze and we lost a majority of our crop. In addition to the freeze, excessive rains in June brought on cracks in our sweet cherries. Here are some pics of the kiddos picking black sweets today with Grandma Sue.

07/11/2016

Tart Cherry Harvest is in full swing! We are having a great harvest this year... Trees are loaded with these bright red gems! We expect cherry harvest to last into the 2nd week of August.

05/25/2016

What's a sure sign of spring in Michigan... Fresh Michigan asapargus! Our asparagus season is in full swing here at Hackert Family Farms.
Fresh asapargus is often available at our grocery stores year-round. The asapargus may come from Peru, Argentina, Mexico or California... But it doesn't compare to the taste of fresh Michigan Asapargus :) so buy it now and enjoy it while it lasts! Our season usually runs until the middle to end of June.
Apple blossoms are nearing petal-fall. Bees have been working hard!
Cherry blossoms developed into little, green, baby cherries. Some blossoms died off during cold nights or simply did not get pollinated. It looks like we are going to have a nice crop of cherries.
A nice, steady rain is what we need now... It is very dry on the farm. We have planted a lot of new trees, and all of them need a nice drink of water. Our entire farm is in need of a nice soaking rain. We have a "water truck" to send out to our orchards in need, but a nice rain would be an answer to our prayers :)
In the last week and a half, we have only experienced one night of temps falling below freezing. That freeze has killed off a few blossoms, but we think we will have a very nice crop.

05/06/2016

Sweet Cherries are in full bloom as of this week! During this time of year we are busy spraying the trees, planting new trees and cleaning up the brush from the orchards we pruned during the winter months. We are also hoping for nice, moderate temperatures.
The next full moon is Saturday, May 21st. During the full moon, we are often vulnerable to freezing temperatures during the night... As often times, we don't get the cloud cover needed to keep the temperature up. A temperature below 30 degrees for a few hours in the night could destroy an entire crop while in bloom.
The tart cherries will be the next to bloom! I'll be sure to upload some pictures for everyone to enjoy :)

09/20/2015

Way to bag that big buck Carson! Saving the trees one at a time!

08/26/2014

Peaches are finally getting ripe!

07/09/2014

Harvest for tart cherries has begun for 2014 across the nation. It is a bit later than normal, but Mother Nature decides when harvest will begin.

On the West coast in Oregon and Washington, harvest has begun and are quite early this year. Quality in Oregon is reported as very good.

In Southwest Michigan, a very small quantity of cherries were delivered in week one. Harvest is a bit late compared to the norm of Southwest Michigan.

Tart cherries have not started for our farm and surrounding areas. We are expected to start in a week.

11/06/2013

Apple season is wrapping up for the year... we are working towards being done with apples no later than November 13th (we have to be prepared for opening day of deer season). We are blessed to have such a wonderful crop of apples this year... so far we have picked approximately 280,000 bushels of apples!

Our apples are sold to Michigan Apple Packers for the fresh market and to Indian Summer Co-Op Inc. for apple sauce, apple slices and for apple juice.