Summer Is Coming! The Low Down on Our Strawberries

As we said back in January, 2015 is a huge year for us! So far we have announced we would be producing Black Raspberries, Aronia Berries, and now we proudly announce we will be offering a 
U-Pick field of Strawberries in the summer of 2016. 

We really like having strawberries, but we were running into a problem of having an over abundance of product in the field. Meaning we were unable to pick all of the fruit out there, and that means we were loosing money. So we went and put our thinking caps on, after some time we came up with this idea:

We will be opening a U-Pick Strawberry Patch!

How exciting? We will have not only U-Pick Blueberries but also U-Pick Strawberries. We are thrilled to finally be able to do what so many of you have been asking for in providing a certified organic U-Pick Strawberry patch. 

Now, here's the bad news, we need time to get our act together, and get the plants going. So we will not have strawberries this summer, instead we will be opening our Strawberry U-Pick in the summer of 2016. We will continue to have U-Pick Blueberries. 

If your wondering where exactly we will be putting our U-Pick Strawberries in at, and if your familiar with our farm, you might have noticed that we have moved the majority of where we make our compost to a different section of our farm, and that field is now bare. This is where we will be putting our U-Pick Strawberries. It is right across from our U-Pick Blueberry field, how perfect?! 

Over the next year we have quite a bit of work to do, we need to prep our soil and get it up to our standards (it's already been certified organic since we made our certified organic compost there), and most importantly we need to plant the strawberry plants! We have already placed our order for the plants and we are happy to announce the variety we will have are Bentons. 

Benton strawberry plant is a Junebearing cultivar, named after Benton County where Oregon State University is located in Corvallis, Oregon.  Fruit is very bright, has excellent keeping quality, is conic in shape, and the has good flavor. Fruit is medium to large in size and is recommended for all parts of the Pacific Northwest. Benton appears to have excellent winter hardiness and excellent fruit quality with vigorous growth. 

The upright habit makes Benton a good bet for home gardeners as well as the commercial grower. It is more drought resistant than Rainier strawberry plants. Virus tolerant. Also tolerant to red stele. Ripens late.

As we make progress and go along on our new venture we will be posting photos and up dates, so keep your eye out for it all. It's sure to be exciting! 

We would like to thank all of our customers over the years for supporting our farm and all our additions we have added since 2006. Adding blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries was a risk, but meeting such a warm response has allowed us to make additional improvements and to grow as a farm. 

Up & Coming Announcement From SVO!

A while back we announced that in the year 2016 we would be having Black Raspberries for sale. Well we haven't added just one crop, but in fact two. At this time we would like to announce that in the harvest of 2016 we will also have Aronia berries. 

Aronia Berries are also know as "chokeberry" but have been rebranded into the Aronia. Native to North America, and most commonly found in wet woods and swamps. Places in Europe and Russia have been growing Aronia berries since the early 20th century. Uses for this berry include wines, syrups, juices, soft spreads, teas, salsas, chili starters, extracts, beer, ice cream, and gummies. Here in the United States, Iowa has been at this super foods heart. 

We are excited to start offering this along with all of our other berries and we think it will complement what we are already offering. Aronia berries are thought to be higher in antioxidants than all of our common super foods that we already know and love. While studies are still being conducted as to what exactly they can do, there are strong theories and reports that suggest these health benefits:

• Reduce blood pressure
• Reduce oxidized LDL cholesterol levels
• Reduce inflammation
• Reduce the chance of a heart attack
• Reduce recovery time following a heart attack
• Reduce weight gain
• Reduce eye inflammation
• Reduce muscle recovery time after workouts 
• Regulate Blood sugar
• Reduce the chance of developing cancer

We are excited to include Aronia berries as a new flavor to be included in our spreads, powders, dried, and frozen. We will keep everyone updated as we develop our new products and approach 2016's harvest. Who knows we might even sell them fresh at our farm stand!

For even more information (health benefits and such) please check out these links:

1. Heal With Food 
2. Superberries
3. Nutrition & You

Black Raspberries & Their Benefits

So earlier in the year we said big things were coming, and we meant it! We have planted a crop of black-raspberries that we will be adding to our line of fresh (available only at the farm during harvest), frozen (offered year round while in stock), freeze dried powders, spreads, and even dried lines of products. We will not have any product available until sometime in 2016. In the mean time we want to start spreading the word, and share why we thought this would be an excellent berry to add to our farm. 

Black Raspberries basically are not grown organically in the United States. We will potentially have the largest Certified Organic planting once production starts. They are not grown in the United States, not because they are difficult but because no one really relizes their untapped potential. Like their counter part the Red Raspberry, they are extremely high in vitamins and minerals. Black Raspberries are thought to help in these specific health problems: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, inflammatory bowel disease, metabolic syndrome, alleviate pain, preserve eyesight, and protect against the development of cancer. 

A study published in Nutrition and Cancer in 2013 found through tests on human cells demonstrated that anthocyanins extracted from black raspberry may help to suppress the growth of colon cancer. In another study published in Gynecologic Oncology in 2011found that black raspberry extract may help prevent cervical cancer, though the use of black raspberry extract inducing apoptosis (a type of programmed cell death essential for stopping the proliferation of cancer cells).  Additionally there is evidence that black raspberry extract can help prevent skin cancer when applied directly to the skin, however there is more research being conducted about this theory and evidence. 

The Black Raspberry has show promise in the treatment of metabolic syndrome (this is a group of risk factors that occur together and increase the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes). A study published in 2014 in Phytotherapy Research found that people with metabolic syndrome were given black raspberry extract for about three month and showed a decrease in total cholesterol. Black Raspberry has also appeared to reduce inflammation and improve function in the layer of cells lining the inside of blood vessels (a factor that may promote better blood pressure control). 

Black Raspberries are one of many plants that contain anthocyanins, this is a class of compounds thought to play a major role in potential of health benefits in a plant, other top sources of these compounds can also be found in blueberries. 

We at Sunset Valley Organics are always looking out for our customers health, and want to provide choices that are healthy, but we are also wanting to supply ourselves with more healthy choices. We are excited as our venture begins with Black Raspberries. 

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