A NOTE FROM FARMER AL
Dear CSA Members,
As the 2014 cherry season fizzles out with barely a whimper, I continue to respond to the many disappointed and perplexed customers (mostly at farmer’s markets) who exclaim “What, no Bings!!?” Everyone wants to know why, of course, and the quick answer is… Global Warming.
The most critical weather for cherries is not in April or May when there should already be fruit on the trees. It is winter weather that really affects cherry production. Cherry trees need cold temperatures in December and January. They need those dark, damp, dismal, interminable, cold,wet foggy days we used to get here in the Central Valley for weeks on end in the winter. Not this year! I remember Becky’s and my family Christmas day feast… we actually ate outside, enjoying, although a little eerily, the warm, sunny day in the backyard. While we were grateful for the girls being able to ride their bikes and play outside for their entire Christmas break, it was a little unsettling. While the evening temperature dropped below 45°F, the warm days offset those chill hours.
It all has to do with the physiological development of the fruit buds. Lots of hours of temperatures below 45°F are needed for the bud development to occur. 2014 is the second year in a row of low cherry production; but this year is even worse than 2013 production. Two years of warm winter weather is not technically a trend, yet, but it may be an early indication of how global warming will have profound effects on agriculture and the production of some of the foods we love!
The good news is that all our other stone fruit crops are OK, production wise. Peaches, nectarines and most apricots only need about half the hours of winter chill as do cherries. And our plums and pluots actually have a better-than- normal crop. There will be plenty of fruit this summer for everyone to enjoy and so far the eating quality seems to be better than ever. It’s not all doom and gloom here; there is still a summer of lots of good fruit and good eating ahead of us.
Note from Chef Becky: The lack of cherries is also affecting the kitchen. Because of the absence of cherries, we will not be able to make any cherry conserve and my personal fa- vorite strawberry-cherry conserve made with Dirty Girl strawberries, this year.
