Earliest start ever to cherry season, thanks to hot Okanagan temperatures
Posted May 3, 2016 12:18 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OKANAGAN (NEWS 1130) – The annual cherry season is starting earlier that ever in the Okanagan, thanks to the warm weather.
The early harvest means picking in Osoyoos will happen in early June, and you’ll see cherries for sale not long after.
Chris Pollock with BC Tree Fruits says hot temperatures across the region really kick-started the growing season.
“Last year, we were probably about 10 to 14 days earlier than ‘normal’ — there is no normal year. This year, we are even earlier than that and a lot of it is due to the weather.”
“The early spring and the warm weather that we have had up here in the Okanagan valley has definitely resulted in an earlier start to the summer fruit season. Cherries obviously has been our largest commodity for the summer fruits.”
Pollock notes this doesn’t just apply to cherries. “Peaches, nectarines and plums — we are going to be larger than last year, probably on average about a 20 to 25 per cent increase.”
He warns the early harvest doesn’t necessarily mean prices will drop; that is up to retailers.
How is the weather affecting wine?
Christine Coletta, owner of Okanagan Crush Pad Winery, says all indications point to a heavy crop load this year.
“Our challenge is really [that] we are so far ahead… that we have had to bring in extra crews to work the plants and make sure that everything keeps on schedule. The other big factor is water; we haven’t the usual rainfall that we would have in the spring.”
“This is a very early year. In fact, we are ten days ahead of where we were last year and three weeks ahead of the normal growing season,” says Coletta.
She adds it’s too early to tell what that means for flavour — that will depend on summer weather.
