October 11, 2011: Farm Fair was a lot of fun this year! The weather was great and we hope everyone who came had a really nice time. Farm Tours will be held each remaining Saturday in October. Tours depart The Market promptly at 10:30, 1:30, and 3:30. Guests get to explore the 4 acre maze, the straw maze for young kids, the barnyard animals, and take a 40 minute wagonride through the farm.

We are picking our cotton as weather permits. We are also about to plant our strawberries that will ripen in the spring of next year. The Market will close at the end of the month but will open back up in mid-April with fresh strawberries!

September 22, 2011: Fall has come to Cotton Hills Farm. We have harvested most of our pumpkins and are already selling them wholesale. We will put up our tent by this Saturday and fill it with a huge selection of pumpkins, gourds, straw, cornstalks, and more. We also have colorful mums for available for purchase at both The Market at home in Lowrys and The Red Tomato in Fort Mill, SC. The pumpkin crop did well this year and the quality is exceptional.

We have mountain apples for sell at both retail locations. We have Mutsu, Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Fugi, and Jonagold apple varieties. They are for sale both by the pound and by the bushel box. The bushel price is $22 for about 40 lbs.

Cotton is also turning white and we are picking it now. The weather needs to be sunny and dry for it to pick well and we have not had much weather like that this week. Hopefully we will get some needed rain and then it will dry out for a while both for the cotton and the farm tours during the month of October.

August 3, 2011: Peaches, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, zucchini, okra, watermelons, cantaloupes, and much more are all now ripe and picked each morning at Cotton Hills Farm. They can be purchased at The Market in Lowrys or The Red Tomato in Fort Mill at the corner of Hwy 21 Bypass and Old Nation.

We have just finished up picking the Cresthaven variety of peaches and are about to begin picking the Monroes. We also have China Pearl white peaches available right now too. The tomatoes are ripening fast during the hot weather. #2 tomatoes are available for purchase on the porch of The Market for $10 for a 1/2 bushel (25lbs)or $15 for a bushel (50lbs).

The cotton has set a good crop this year and the bolls will begin to open in September. We will begin to harvest the cotton in October. The soybeans also look good thanks to several good rains earlier in the summer.

April 25, 2011: Our Strawberries are now RIPE and plenty are available. They can be purchased already picked at both of our retail locations. One location is at the farm (The Market--open Mon-Sat, 9am to 7pm) and the other is in Fort Mill on Hwy 21 Bypass just south of Regency Park (The Red Tomato--open Mon-Fri, 12 to 8pm; Sat, 10am to 6pm).

Come U-Pick them yourself at the farm during our regular hours at The Market. Please check in at The Market before heading over to the strawberry field. Save $2 per gallon by picking them yourself or $3 per gallon if you pick 5 gallons or more. Call The Market at (803) 581-4545 for more information.

We are busy on the farm harvesting strawberries and starting all of our summer crops in the fields. Many of our tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, peppers, egg plants, cantaloupes, watermelons, beans, sweet corn, and all of our okra has already been planted and look great. We've had some close calls with bad storms but so far have been spared any significant damage. Our peaches in the new orchard located a couple of miles north of Lowrys on US 321 will begin bearing some fruit this year. At that orchard we have a total of 24 varieties that will start in late May and continue to ripen through August and into the first weeks of September.

PLEASE LIKE US ON FACEBOOK FOR SPECIAL DEALS AND PROMOTIONS!!! The first 500 fans of the farm on Facebook will be eligible for a drawing for free gift cards redeemable at either of our retail locations! Become a FAN Today!

January 25, 2011: We’re making good progress pruning our peach orchards. If we get some good weather, we should finish within a couple of weeks. Each winter we prune the peach trees. We like to keep our mature trees about head high with open centers. It is important to keep the trees pruned properly so the weight of the fruit load will not break the limbs.

Our strawberries are still in the dormant stage but look healthy. We hope to have plenty of berries for the Spring. We will have U-Pick berries again this year.

Like every winter, we try to spend some time working on our equipment getting it in better condition for the coming season. Also important is planning for the upcoming year. We always make a point to rotate our crops from one field to another each year. This is an easy way to reduce disease, insect, and some weed pressures.

**The 2010 Lowrys Christmas Parade will be held on Saturday, December 18th at 1:00**

November 29, 2010: Things on the farm have slowed down just a bit. Strawberries are looking good but entering into dormancy for the winter. In March as temperature begin to warm, the plants will begin growing again and will quickly shade the beds. Berries should start ripening by mid-April.

We're finishing up planting our small grains behind most of our cotton land. The wheat and rye will be ready for harvest in June. Using a combine, we will harvest the grains and then later bale the straw into square bales to be sold and used for landscaping and erosion control.

October 10, 2010: If you missed Farm Fair this year, make plans now to attend our 11th annual next year on October 8, 2011. The weather was beautiful for this year's Farm Fair and everyone seemed to have a great time! We would like to thank everyone who worked very hard to make the event a success. We will have tours each Saturday for the remainder of the month--Oct 16, 23, & 30. Tours leave promptly at 10:30, 1:30, and 3:30. Tours include the maze, the barnyard animals, the mules, and a 40 minute wagonride through the farm. Admission is $7 for adults and $5 for kids. One and under are free.

We are still picking cotton and pumpkins. Sweet potatoes are also in season and we are digging them now too. We have apples fresh from the mountains for sale. Both the apples and sweet potatoes are available for purchase by the pound and also in bulk by the bushel. Soon, we'll begin combining the soybeans and begin planting our winter grains behind the land now planted in beans and cotton.

September 22, 2010: Pumpkins, Mums, Cornstalks, Sweet Potatoes, Mountain Apples, Gourds, and much more are now in season! We have a HUGE selection of pumpkins and all your fall needs. The tent is up and public farm tours will begin Saturday, October 2nd and continue through October each Saturday. The 2010 Farm Fair will be held on Saturday, October 9th. The event will begin at 10AM and run through 4:30PM. Arrive by 3:00PM to enjoy all of the activities. The regular activities (wagonride, maze, and barnyard animals) will be taking place as well as a bluegrass band, food vendors (Dan Huntely's BBQ and burgers and hot dogs from The Summit Restaurant of Chester), equipment demonstrations, grist meal demonstrations, and the AMAZING PUMPKIN CATAPULT! More details can be found under the Farm Tours section of the website.

On the farm we are now picking cotton. We are able to begin picking earlier than usual due to the very hot summer and the advanced crop this year. This is good as we hope to have the cotton out of the field before the short days and wet weather patterns set in for the beginning of winter. We are also harvesting pumpkins at full speed. As temperatures cool down, we expect more and more people to begin decorating for the Fall!

A new location is now open in Fort Mill, SC. It is located on the corner of US 21 and Old Nation. It is open 9 to 6, Monday through Saturday. It is filled with produce fresh from our farm each morning. Plenty of pumpkins, mums, cornstalks, straw, and all your fall needs are available at this location.

August 12, 2010: We still have plenty of tomatoes, freestone peaches, corn, okra, squash, cucumbers, zucchini, melons, and more at The Market! Hours are 9 to 7, Mon to Sat. Our sweet potatoes—the Beauregard variety—look really good and we’ll begin digging fresh potatoes soon! Our pumpkins are now beginning to lap in the rows and are filled with blooms. We have had to irrigate all of our fruit and vegetable crops due to the dry weather but August has brought some good rainfall. Plans are now being made for Farm Fair 2010! It will be held on Saturday, October 9th. It will feature wagonrides, barnyard animals, corn maze, farm equipment, a Bluegrass band, Roman’s Revenge Pumpkin Chunk’n Catapult and much more. Make plans now to bring the entire family and friends for a fun day on the farm.

April 24, 2010: The Market at Cotton Hills Farm is now OPEN. Hours are 9AM to 7PM, Monday through Saturday. Our own strawberries are now ripe and plenty are available. U-Pick begins this Monday, April 26th. Our prices this year at The Market are $10 a gallon for berries already picked and only $8 a gallon for u-pick berries. Please call The Market with any questions you may have. 803.581.4545.

Cotton Hills Farm is located on US 321 just south of the York and Chester County line. We are within a 30 to 50 minute drive from Rock Hill, Fort Mill, Tega Cay, Lake Wylie, Clover, Gastonia, Union SC, Winnsboro, Lancaster, and even Charlotte. The Market address is 2575 Lowrys Hwy, Chester, SC 29706.

Last week we began planting cotton and hope to finish in the coming week. The peach crop looks really good this year and we have just completed the thinning process. Some years the trees set too large of a crop and the result can be small peaches. By removing a percent of the fruit set, the peaches will be a nice size. This thinning was done all by hand and is a very slow and tedious thing to do. All of the vegetables are still off to a great start. We hope to have creamer potatoes, lettuce, onions, cabbage, and broccoli soon. Squash will begin to produce in only a few weeks.

April 8, 2010: The Market at Cotton Hills Farm will open for the season on Friday, April 23rd. We will be featuring our own strawberries. U-Pick will be available on a first come basis, weather permitting. Feel free to call ahead for picking conditions and availability. Regular business hours for The Market are Monday through Saturday, 9AM to 7PM. Telephone: 803.581.4545.

Our first plantings of tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, and more are already in the ground for this season and seem to be well-established. We hope to have our own peaches, tomatoes, and more by the third week in June. Our first planting of sweet corn is already up!

We have plans to sell at the Charlotte Regional Farmer’s Market located off of 1801Yorkmont again this year. This will be our fourth year at the market. We also have plans to sell at a new location this year. More information about this location will be posted soon.

January 26, 2010: It’s January but things on the farm are still pretty busy. We are pruning both peach orchards right now. The older orchard takes about 20 to 30 minutes to prune each tree. The newer trees planted this time last year take about 2 minutes. However, the pruning done this year on the young trees will likely shape the tree in the long-term. As we prune, we decide which branches will be the main forks of the tree or which branches should be cut off. We generally want to have about four main branches on our trees with the center open. Ideally the tree will look like an upside down umbrella (without the handle of course) when it begins to bear peaches. We hope to have peaches from these trees next summer!

Also on the farm we are looking after our strawberries. The extreme cold over three weeks that we had at the start of the year worried us but the berries seem to be fine. When they begin to bloom in March, temperatures need to stay above freezing or we must either cover them or run water over them.

We are very excited about our new sorting, grading, and wholesaling building that will be located near our retail market. The new building will allow us to further improve our quality and consistency of our fruits and vegetables. We’re hoping to complete this project in time for the strawberries in mid-April.

As always, our retail stand The Market will open in April with a supply of fresh fruits and vegetables. We do offer reduced “by the bushel” prices for retail customers at The Market. For anyone in the produce business interested in buying wholesale quantities direct from the farm, please contact Peter Wilson at peter_bruce_wilson@hotmail.com or 803.385.7695.

October 31, 2009: Our Market closes today but will re-open in mid-April in time for our own strawberries. U-Pick strawberries will be available again this year. We will open on December 19th for the Lowrys Christmas Parade. The parade will begin at 1:00.

We are about halfway finished picking cotton this year. The wet weather this month has delayed harvest. The soybeans will be ready to combine in a week or two depending on the weather. Planting grain such as wheat and rye will begin soon too. There is always plenty to do on the farm even during the time of year when The Market is closed.

September 26, 2009: We are now picking pumpkins and our big tent is up! Beginning the first Saturday in October, the farm will be inviting the public to tour the farm. Wagons depart The Market at 10:30, 1:30, and 3:30. For more information about our Saturday tours and our Farm Fair, please click here.

Our cotton is getting close to being ready to be picked. Generally when we start picking cotton, we work at it hard and late until it is all harvested. Hopefully we’ll be finished by November.

Past Journals