Posted by Nick Roster on 3/27/2013 to
General News
This year, for the better of our fruit crops, and detriment to humans... Mother Nature
has been "kinder." While everyone around us complains about the cold weather in March, Jamie and I have been quietly happy. It was just a bit over a year ago that temperatures hit 89°F, and that caused the orchards to start blooming. Then came a killing frost (it was only March). It was that series of events that decimated not only the cherry crop, but all our northern Michigan fruit crops. We lost peaches, apples, pears... everything. It was a bad year for our farmers. Hopefully, the orchards will look like the one to the right this year.
I was talking to one of our fruit processors and knock on a tree truck, this year is shaping up to be a bit better. It has remained cold, and right on cue (hopefully after this week) we should start to see a gradual warm up for all those April showers. There is always a chance for some loss with a late frost, but hopefully those losses will be minimal compared to our complete crop failure we had last year.
Jamie and I have been lucky to work with the fruit processors that we do, as we have been able to keep scoring Michigan-grown Montmorency tart cherries for all our jarred products, and it looks like that supply will be uninterrupted until the next harvest.
For those of you longing for our unsweetened dried sweet cherries... It has actually been a couple of years since we have been able to offer those delectable morsels. (Last year it was frost, and the year before it was too much rain at the wrong time - during pollination - bees can't fly in rain). I have been assured by our fruit processor that, again if harvest goes well, we should be able to get those cherries back on our shelves. What a great addition they have been to our product line, and we have missed them.
Our friends and neighbors are ready for winter to be over, and we are too. Just wait a few more weeks, please.
has been "kinder." While everyone around us complains about the cold weather in March, Jamie and I have been quietly happy. It was just a bit over a year ago that temperatures hit 89°F, and that caused the orchards to start blooming. Then came a killing frost (it was only March). It was that series of events that decimated not only the cherry crop, but all our northern Michigan fruit crops. We lost peaches, apples, pears... everything. It was a bad year for our farmers. Hopefully, the orchards will look like the one to the right this year.I was talking to one of our fruit processors and knock on a tree truck, this year is shaping up to be a bit better. It has remained cold, and right on cue (hopefully after this week) we should start to see a gradual warm up for all those April showers. There is always a chance for some loss with a late frost, but hopefully those losses will be minimal compared to our complete crop failure we had last year.
Jamie and I have been lucky to work with the fruit processors that we do, as we have been able to keep scoring Michigan-grown Montmorency tart cherries for all our jarred products, and it looks like that supply will be uninterrupted until the next harvest.
For those of you longing for our unsweetened dried sweet cherries... It has actually been a couple of years since we have been able to offer those delectable morsels. (Last year it was frost, and the year before it was too much rain at the wrong time - during pollination - bees can't fly in rain). I have been assured by our fruit processor that, again if harvest goes well, we should be able to get those cherries back on our shelves. What a great addition they have been to our product line, and we have missed them.
Our friends and neighbors are ready for winter to be over, and we are too. Just wait a few more weeks, please.