Cherry has a fast, lightning-fast season, no more than a couple of weeks in mid-June. Cherries are usually ready around the fourth of July, and the harvest can last until the end of the month. Cherry-picking begins in late May and early June and becomes the main activity during the summer months.
Cherry season normally begins in May and lasts until August. However, there are numerous varieties of cherries, and their growing seasons are shorter than this overall timespan, and they fall within certain sections of the growing season. So many cherry growers cultivate numerous types.
The cherry harvest begins in British Columbia in early June in the South Okanagan region and ends in early September in the North Okanagan and Creston Valley regions.
By mid-June, the California cherry harvest ends, after which the baton is passed only to other major cherry growers in the United States. As the California season ends in June, cherries begin to arrive from the northwest. Once the California cherries run out, the northwestern cherries emerge and stay strong through the end of August.
Cherries Take a While to Ripen
Cherries took slightly longer to color and ripen due to the cool April weather, but the sunny, dry days produced good fruit and a bumper harvest is expected to continue into early June, according to the California Cherry Board.
Once your cherry blossoms give way to fruit buds, you can usually expect ripe cherries to be picked everywhere from early June to late July. For most cherry crops, the harvest season lasts from mid-April to the end of July. The U.S. cherry season begins in California in late April/early May, and continues in Oregon and Washington, ending in late August.
Our cherry season is the longest in the world, starting in California in May, moving to Washington in June, and ending in the Northwest in early September. As you can see in this schedule, the short California cherry season typically runs from mid-May to early June. California cherries arrive in early June, mid-June is usually the off-season, more northern crops gradually replace them in the summer, and British Columbia cherries end in early August. The cherry season lasts from late June to mid-August, and the cherry season runs from early July to mid-August.
Cherries Have a Short Growing Season
Cherries have a much shorter growing season and can be found within a week or two, usually mid-June in warmer regions and July and August in colder regions. Fresh cherries have a shorter season (usually mid-June to July) and spoil more easily. When cherries are picked early, they don’t have much time to develop their full flavor or become truly sweet. They need to be harvested when they are ripe and will only last a couple of days, so harvest time is key.
Cherries are easily damaged, so they need to be constantly harvested by hand throughout the harvest season. Wetter cherries are more susceptible to bad weather, are more easily damaged, and have a shorter harvest window. Unlike other stone fruits (peaches, nectarines, etc.), cherries ship quite well and usually arrive in stores within 2 days of harvest. Most of the shops I have come across only sell different varieties of dark cherries like black cherries, with Bing cherries waiting.
There are several varieties of dark cherries, but the store decides to advertise different varieties. Cherries are the largest, fleshy, dark red varieties that are commonly sold fresh in summer at grocery stores and farmers’ markets. Varieties of cherries that are excellent for fresh consumption ripen a little earlier than cherries, which are more often used for cherry pie and jam.
Cherry Season Varies Based on the Type
Cherries, including the popular Bing and Rainier varieties, are available from May to August. Although considered the most widely grown variety and the gold standard of all fresh cherries for sale, Bing cherries are only available in July. Cherry ~ June is harvest time for all cherry varieties available in the Eastern Growing Region, including Cherry Sweet Pies, and availability may be limited.
The growing season for cherries is short and can be grown in almost any temperate climate in the world. In the Northern Hemisphere, cherries begin blooming around April, with peak cherry picking in summer, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Southern Europe in June, North America in June, England in mid-July and southern British Columbia (Canada) from June to mid-August are the best months for whale watching.
Due to the weather conditions in New England, the cherry picking season is short, lasting only about three weeks from late June to mid-July. Depending on the region, cherry picking typically runs from mid-November to the end of February; however, this year, the cherry season has been delayed due to record rain and cold in November. For example, in Washington, the largest cherry producer in the United States alone, the cherry season runs from early June to late August.
Growers Vary Their Cherry Production
Growing multiple varieties with overlapping peak periods allows growers to ensure an uninterrupted supply of fresh and ripe cherries throughout the summer season. More than 15,000 tons of Australian stone fruit are harvested in just 100 days, with climatic conditions dictating harvest times in the six major cherry-growing states. Beautiful dark juicy cherries begin to harvest the summer Okanagan fruit harvest, usually around the third week of June.
Lots of juicy ruby red cherries are harvested ripe in the Brentwood area just in time for the Memorial Day weekend hype. The first cherries to germinate each year are Brooks cherries, a sweet cherry variety. It is itself a cross between Rainier and Bing, harvested in Southern California starting in April. Cherry trees take three to four years after planting to harvest their first fruit and seven years to fully mature. A medium-sized cherry tree can produce 30 to 50 liters of cherries per season, while bonsai can produce 10 to 15 liters.
