Cherry pickin' season

Recent rain put the Flathead cherry harvest a couple of days behind schedule, but activity has picked back up and the effort is in full swing now, two growers said recently.

"As of today we're picking pretty heavy," Flathead Cherry Growers Association President Dale Nelson said.

Four or five semi loads of cherries left the cooperative's warehouse at Finley Point, headed to the Monson Fruit Co. in Selah, Wash., for processing.

Nelson said the crop throughout the Flathead Valley "is looking good. So far, it looks like everybody is in good shape." At his orchard, Nelson "pulled off a bunch of fruit that was absolutely huge."

All the cherries he has seen are "really coming on nice right now," grower Gary Hoover said. Hoover owns Orchard Estates along Montana 35 near Bigfork.

"It's gonna be good and they're gonna be great," Hoover said of the harvest and fruit.

Nelson expects the harvest to wrap up sometime next week. The weather forecast doesn't call for significant rain that could interfere with that timetable, he said.

Hoover and Nelson both said the rest of this week and the weekend will be extra busy for growers and pickers.

Hoover won't start picking his crop until Friday and said the job should take about four days. He said he thinks most growers will be finished picking by Sunday or Monday.

The end of the harvest also means the roadside stands likely will disappear this weekend, Nelson said.

"The roadside stands are rocking," he said. He cautioned people to not delay in their quest to buy fruit "unless you want to miss them."

Hoover and his wife plan to set up a roadside stand this year because they're especially pleased with their crop. The Hoovers haven't had a stand the last few years, but will have theirs up and running this week.

Hoover describes his as a small orchard, with 180 trees.

He has owned his orchard for 10 years and has literally reaped the fruits of his labor. His first year he harvested about 3,000 pounds of cherries, but last year his crop weighed in at 25,000 pounds. Hoover attributes the growth to several factors, including the simple fact that the trees are more mature, along with the attention and fertilizer he routinely applies.

"You have to give them a lot of attention," Hoover said. "I spray and I fertilize, fertilize, fertilize." He also prunes his trees early every spring while the trees still are in the dormant stage.

Determining the exact amount of water to give the trees also is critical, he said. "I've been watering really heavy for the last month - about 12 hours a night." Water translates to size in cherries. Halting water delivery at the right time also is important, Hoover said, because that brings the sugar content of the cherries up, making them sweeter.

Hoover grows Rainier and Lapin cherries. He has 160 Lapin trees and 20 Rainiers.

Hoover said he has had a helicopter at his orchard three times, blowing the rain water off the trees and fruit.

"It's really something to see," Hoover said of the hovering aircraft. The pilots drop to a level of about five feet above tree tops and hover. Rain sitting on cherries causes splits that growers and buyers don't want.

Once the trees have dried from rain, growers usually wait 24 hours to pick, Nelson said, because the fruit has to rest from the stress of rain.