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Get ready for a great–and long–season of cherries.
By Shelley Nicholl
In a few weeks, consumers can start biting into a juicy and abundant crop of cherries and continue chomping well into August.
Conditions have been ripe, so to speak, for an excellent harvest in the Okanagan.
“The warm weather has been good for our cherry growers this season,” said BCFGA president Joe Sardinha. “The trees have shown a very good bloom and the crops’ conditions were better than expected.”
The first cherries will likely be picked in just under two weeks, with the bulk of the first cherries ready a week after that.
As well, the season will extend into the middle or toward the end of August as more local orchardists are growing late-harvest cherries, such as the staccato variety.
“We have the latest cherries in, I believe, the world,” said orchardist Dominic Rampone, who also has a selection of late-harvest cherries. The later cherries have been a good way to dodge the heavy competition for July cherries and extend the season.
“We’re expecting a good crop this year,” said B.C. Fruit Growers’ Association executive director Glen Lucas. “The quality and quantity look great.”
shelley@kelowna.com/(250) 575-0761
