PORTLAND, Ore. — Nothing says summer has arrived more than fresh fruit and this year’s cherry season is right around the corner. It’s expected to start a little bit later than usual in a few parts of the Pacific Northwest because of our cool and wet spring.
If you’re seeing cherries in your local grocery story, they’re not local because we’re still a few weeks away from harvest season. Growers are optimistic that this season will be better than last year, when a cold and wet spring led to a much smaller crop than normal.
"This year we’re looking at a little later crop, we had a somewhat of a cool spring but not the issues with pollination that we saw last year," said Jon DeVaney, the president of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association.
DeVaney said this year is expected to be one of he best crops they’ve seen in the last couple of summers.
"We’re really going to start get going having cherries in volume over the next couple of weeks, mid-June is really the heart of harvest," DeVaney said.
The heart of harvest is also dependent on weather and climate. Tammi Packer is the co-owner of Packer Orchards out of Hood River. She's expecting a later season in Oregon compared to Washington.
Packer said her crop is running a little behind, by about three weeks, but May’s hot weather really helped with the bloom.
Despite the later start to the season, it's still expected to be worth several hundred million dollars, according to DeVaney.
Some forecast models are already showing highs close to 90 degrees by next week, and if the Portland area does see those temperatures, then there’s a chance the cherry season could pick up sooner.