CHERRY SEASON AROUND THE CORNER

Fruit World Royal Lynn Cherries

California Cherry season is just around the corner, and we anticipate our first land of cherries Thursday or Friday this week! The cherry season is very short in California and typically lasts 6 to 8 weeks depending on the weather or variety.  Cherries are just starting to trickle in due to the rain last week. Look for the overall cherry supply to be tight until June this year. We will see Frog Hollow Tiogas 16x1# clamshells and Fruit World Royal Lynn in bags kick off the season. Dwelley was hit hard by pest pressure during the off season, and they will have very light offerings for the first few varietals. We will see some Tiogas from Dwelley come on in May.

Cherries are a small and delicate fruit and need to be handled with extreme care.  The fruit starting to size up on the tree can still be damaged if there is heavy rain or wind.  Extreme weather can cause the cherries to split or crack and that part of the crop is lost. The cherries dangle together in groups of 2 to 6 pieces of fruit and the wind can cause them to bang up against each other, causing bruising on the shoulders of the fruit, the area near the stem. Plump sweet red Bing cherries are the most popular variety grown in the Sacramento, Stockton and Lodi areas.  Other varieties grown in California include Tiogas, Royal Lynn Sequoia, Tulare, Brooks, Chelan, Lapin and Rainier. California has a combination of nutrient-rich soil, abundant sunshine and mild temperatures, producing sweet fruit.