Flathead cherries: Better late than never

LAKE COUNTY - Flathead cherries are just starting to come off the trees, and even though they are late, for growers it's a sign of a solid year.

Last season was a tough one for Flathead growers. The market had a surplus of fruit with a bumper crop in Washington state that competed with the late-ripening Flathead cherries and meant that a fair amount of local fruit stayed on the trees.

However, this year is a completely different story.

As Flathead cherries start hitting the market this week, they're in good shape to compete with other Northwestern fruit.

Washington and Oregon had light crops this season, a drastic comparison to last year, when there was an overabundance of cherries. Their fruit is almost done, which means a wide open market for Flathead cherries.

"There are not nearly as many in Washington," said Marilyn Bowman, who owns Bowman Orchards with her husband, Gerald Bowman. "They had a lot of frost damage and winter damage. Production was down quite a bit, which means prices should be better (for Montana)."

For the consumer who has been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the valley's cherry crop, the harvest hasn't come soon enough.

"We've had a million people bugging us looking for cherries," said Dale Nelson, president of the Flathead Cherry Growers' Association. "It's a good thing they've been taking longer, for the growers. It makes them worth more money. The later we are the better the price."

The first orchards began picking this weekend. Flathead Lake orchards have a progression of ripeness, starting with orchards to the south near Polson and working the way up the lake to Bigfork.

Orchards further north on the lake were picking their pollinators over the weekend and early this week. Grower Louise Swanberg didn't expect to be picking her Lamberts from her Lakeside orchard until the end of the week.

"Everybody's wondering where the cherries are," Swanberg said. "I don't want to open with yellow fruit."

Nelson estimated it's been at least five or six years since the harvest has been this late. That's been due to a variety of factors, he said, including that full bloom for the trees was a little late and temperatures were cool during pollination.

"It's good for the fruit. It makes them grow slowly," Nelson said. "The best takes a little bit longer."

Last year Swanberg was picking early, starting July 17, but she and other lake orchards tend to average around July 20 for the initial harvest date. With full harvest getting into swing starting at the end of this week, that puts this year's harvest nearly two weeks later than in 2009.

"Everybody's antsy," she said. "We just haven't had enough sustained hot weather."

Part of the problem is that the fruit has been slow in coloring.

"When they don't have the sugar content, you don't want to pick them until they're ripe and ready," Bowman said.

Cherries that are going to be shipped need to be a "Marlboro red," Swanberg said. Those that are going to be purchased and eaten here locally need to be deeper shades, more maroon.

"If they get to be purple and are still on the tree, they don't ship as well, but, boy, they're good," she said.

Growers will continue to keep their eyes on the weather. A soaking rain from now through the end of the harvest could be damaging to local crops. The worst kind of rain event is one that runs constantly for 12 to 24 hours followed by hot sun with no wind to blow off the moisture from the fruit. In those cases, growers will be relying on a helicopter to dry the cherries before they absorb the water. The wind and rain storm Thursday didn't seem to cause any damage to orchards that Swanberg had heard.

Orchards in the Flathead look like they'll be ranging from average to a few bumper crops, Swanberg said. For Swanberg, her crop is not nearly as big as last year's but this year will be better for her because she'll likely sell it all. The Flathead cherry harvest typically brings in 2.5 million to 3 million pounds. With crops not as large as last year and likely more demand for Montana's fruit, locals will need to visit stands early to make sure they get a taste.

"When the fruit is ready, you need to grab some, because it's not going to last as long or be as abundant locally," Nelson said.