According to popular cherry orchardist Andy Mariani, Santa Clara
Valley has been
”
blessed
”
with cold winters for the past few years. Cherry growers in the
region are looking forward to healthy crops this year, he said.
According to popular cherry orchardist Andy Mariani, Santa Clara Valley has been “blessed” with cold winters for the past few years.
Cherry growers in the region are looking forward to healthy crops this year, he said.
California Cherry Advisory Board manager Jim Culbertson said the Central Valley’s crops were approaching full bloom.
“We had pretty good winter conditions, things are looking favorable,” Culbertson said, adding, “Only time will tell.”
Having a fairly cold winter, with several chill hours and dormant conditions, this cherry season should be a fruitful one for area growers.
The last few years have been productive for California’s cherry growers, with a record-setting more than eight million packages of the reddish-mahogany fruit being produced in 2008. The year before also set records, with about 7.5 million packages produced.
The reason, Culbertson said, is that the acres have increased, with new orchards popping up in the Southern San Joaquin Valley, Stockton, the Sacramento River Delta and Hollister areas.
There are about 600 cherry growers farming more than 26,000 acres, according to the advisory board’s Web site.
But this year, because of frost damage from the longish winter, Culbertson speculated over whether this year’s crops would reach the volume of last year’s.
“As the buds start to get sap in them, then they’re vulnerable to cold temperatures,” Culbertson said. “But then again, not every flower turns into a piece of fruit, so the overall numbers may still be strong.”
Cherry trees will be blooming into April, and cherry harvesting will take place in June.
