History of SweetHome Blues...
500 blueberry bushes were planted by the previous owner in 1965. Which means they are over 50 years old! Blueberry bushes can live indefinitely because they are always producing new shoots and the older shoots are pruned out to let the new ones thrive. In 1993, the Steffeck family purchased the farm and began immediately to transition to an Organic farm. Sweet Home Blues has been certified organic with Oregon Tilth since 1996. Our farm is inspected every year to make sure we are keeping to the high standards set by Oregon Tilth.
We use integrated pest management strategies instead of pesticides. For example we release over 2000 ladybugs every year. We let the grass in the rows grow up to 4 feet to not allow mummy berry spores to reach the blueberry flowers. We then mow in late spring, after the berries are formed. We also put out fruit fly traps to help catch the Asian fruit fly that can be a potential destroyer of the crop. Our resident Scrub Jays keep away the Starlings from consuming our crop. We are always thinking of creative ways to keep our plants healthy and happy.
The Blueberry patch has grown and expanded into a small orchard, a vigorous garden, an exotic herb display and a wide variety of flowers and native plants.
It is cared for by Don, Dorene, Evan, Mateo, Lenore, Elissa, Liam, Casmiro and the newest edition- Santino! It is a labor of love and a war against the "disturbophytes" aka weeds!
The Steffeck Farm - Certified Oregon Tilth blueberries.
OR-OTCO-CO-95_00367
We use integrated pest management strategies instead of pesticides. For example we release over 2000 ladybugs every year. We let the grass in the rows grow up to 4 feet to not allow mummy berry spores to reach the blueberry flowers. We then mow in late spring, after the berries are formed. We also put out fruit fly traps to help catch the Asian fruit fly that can be a potential destroyer of the crop. Our resident Scrub Jays keep away the Starlings from consuming our crop. We are always thinking of creative ways to keep our plants healthy and happy.
The Blueberry patch has grown and expanded into a small orchard, a vigorous garden, an exotic herb display and a wide variety of flowers and native plants.
It is cared for by Don, Dorene, Evan, Mateo, Lenore, Elissa, Liam, Casmiro and the newest edition- Santino! It is a labor of love and a war against the "disturbophytes" aka weeds!
The Steffeck Farm - Certified Oregon Tilth blueberries.
OR-OTCO-CO-95_00367
27818 SW Grahams Ferry Road, Sherwood Oregon. 97140 (503) 682-1962