Cherry Crop Assessment After Brief Spring Storm

Throughout Sunday and into the early morning hours Monday, we saw rainfall in the San Joaquin Valley. At this point in the season, with cherries still on the trees, this is not too ideal. Like many of our cherry farming neighbors, we at Lodi Blooms have been keeping a close eye on our crop to monitor for any damage.

While still enough to cause damage, the amount of rainfall was negligible at less than a quarter inch. At this point in the season, rain damage is typically caused by the water pooling in the crown of the cherry - where the stem meets the fruit. Excess water accumulation in this area causes the cherry to absorb the moisture and crack. While the cherries are still edible, this does not make for pristine and perfect-looking cherries.

We are happy to report that we were lucky! The storm was brief and has been followed by light winds and breezes. This is exactly what we need in order to dry the water from these trees.

We expect to be back to the picking by tomorrow and, with half our crop already harvested by last Saturday, we speculate that we will complete harvest by early next week on our later-maturing cherry varietals.

This means that there are still cherries on the trees and they are available for picking during our U-Pick Orchard Experience over Memorial Day Weekend!

For more information on the orchard assessment, check-out the story on KCRA 3 News. 

https://www.kcra.com/article/cherry-crops-seem-to-survive-norcal-storms-growers-say/32589033

In the meantime, we continue look after the crop and we ook forward to meeting you here at the Lodi Blooms Orchard!