Wohlgemuth's Organic Cherry Orchard

What is involved in the ripening of Cherries?

Every spring, people ask, "When will the cherries be ripe in Beaumont?".  As soon as cherries from Stockton and Fresno begin to appear at the Farmer's Markets and roadside stands, we start to get telephone calls with questions like "Are the cherries ripe yet" or "When can we come to pick cherries?"

Many people do not realize just how closely the maturing of agricultural products is tied to the weather.  This is especially true for those fruits that ripen in the early part of the growing season.  Cherries, by the way, are the first of those delicious stone fruits to ripen in California.   That still does not explain why it is so difficult to predict when the cherries will be ripe.  Nor does it explain why, when the cherries appear that they will be ripe in two weeks sometimes we do not start picking them for four more weeks.

The key is the weather.  More specifically, the sunshine and the warmth provided by the sunshine.  Many years the cherries will gain most of their size and then just hang green on the trees for weeks.  Size is primarily a result of being fed with organic fertilizer and watered with our well water.  However, color followed by sweetness is more of a result of sunshine.  Because our orchards are located above 2500 feet in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains, and many times those mountains gather clouds, producing cool nights well into May and early June, the ripening process is not steady.  Sometimes there are days in May and early June when it is overcast and the sun never appears.  These kinds of days have the effect of preserving the cherries in the refrigerator much like you do when you take them home from picking.

Over the years we have picked ripe cherries as early as the last week of April and yet we have also seen years when the first ripe fruit was not picked until the last week of June.  Even after the cherries begin to ripen, sometimes the weather changes and we experience cloudy days, which retards the further ripening of the cherries.

It is about as difficult to predict when the cherries will be ripe as it is to predict the weather.   It is our hope that everyone who comes to Beaumont and Cherry Valley to pick cherries has a fun-filled day and takes home many big, beautiful ripe cherries.  At Wohlgemuth's Organic Cherries we try to make your visit such an experience. However, when you plan your picking more than a week in advance, please understand that we are not in control of the cherry ripening process; we leave that in God's hands.

So when is the best time to come, once the cherries are ripe?  Following the heavy picking by the large weekend crowds, there are few ripe cherries left by Monday morning.  Each day during the week more fruit ripens and yet there are not many people here again until the weekend.  So the better days are usually Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.  We recommend you avoid the weekends and come during the week if at all possible.  We are closed on Mondays. Click here to view current picking conditions.

Phone
(951) 845-1548 (No calls after 7pm Please)

Current Conditions
http://www.pickcherry.com/current_conditions.htm