Dear CSA Members,
Every year in the spring we get to go out and survey the orchards for the “set”. This is what tells us if we have a light, average or heavy crop. Having to “thin” the crop is good news. The process of thinning isn’t complicated but must be done in order to assist the trees in producing the best fruit possible. If we left the crop as is on the trees the fruit produced would be small, scarred, and the branches wouldn’t be able to support the weight of the fruit.
Right now the fruit on the apricot trees is about the size of your thumbs. Our crews are trained to look at each piece of fruit to determine which ones should stay and which ones should be removed. This is all done by hand, one piece of fruit at a time. They look for fruit that has powder mildew, pest or wind damage or any kind of blemish that as the fruit grows will expand and cause it to be an “undesirable” piece of fruit and remove it. The clean fruit is left on the branch with a spacing of 1 piece of fruit every 4 to 6 inches. The spacing is critical for weight distribution on the branch and nutrients being delivered to each piece of fruit allowing it to be the best it can be.
Farmer Al loves this time of year. He drives through the orchards in his golf cart and the sound the tires make as he drives over the fruit-littered ground sounds like popcorn being popped. It’s a fun, happy sound and one we all look forward to hearing. The more popping sounds coming from the tires, the bigger our crop and the more fruit you’ll have in your CSA boxes! Pop, Pop, Pop!!!
Happy Spring Everyone!