WONDERFUL FOG!

Now that the rain has stopped for a while, hopefully we will get lots of this stuff. The fog we used to complain about has made a return, and I've heard few complaints. The fog acts as a cold blanket over the area and it helps the dormant fruit and nut trees accumulate chilling hours. With enough chilling, the trees are able to produce a more vigorous and uniform bloom.

Oops! Found the soft spot. Luckily, there was another D-10 ripping this field and it was able to easily pull this one out.

December 18 and every sixth row (Aldrich variety) in this second-leaf orchard still has many of its' leaves. The other varieties are mostly defoliated and ready for winter. An interesting varietal difference I had not noticed before.

It rained all morning today! To date, locally, we have been blessed with about 2.5 inches so far this year, slightly above average. Everything seems wet and some field work is delayed. I was given a reality check yesterday when I saw a trench being back-filled. While wet and sticky (clay soil) on the surface the water has only wet about 3 inches down. Below that the soil is dusty-dry. We need many more days of rain before declaring the end of the drought.

The roses in our yard were beautiful with dew this morning.  This may seem unrelated to almond farming but it is not. The fact that roses are still blooming here indicates that our climate is very temperate and not too cold for almonds. In December and January it will be colder and provide the winter chilling that almonds need.

The dew is a welcome blessing after the recent rains we have enjoyed (another third of an inch yesterday). We even had a hint of fog this morning. Later, the fog will last all day and help the trees accumulate their chill hours. Hopefully the rain and more fog will continue all winter.

Now that we have finally enjoyed some rain, more than an inch locally, these fields planted to oats will soon be turning green. Praise God!

Taking a break from poling

We picked up the last of our almonds today marking the end of an extraordinary harvest with great yields, excellent quality, and strong pricing. A rare combination!
This year we have had a great group of women doing the hand labor such as poling and raking. They have worked through the heat and dust of harvest with a great attitude and beautiful smiles.

On Thursday morning (9/25) we had our first rainfall in many months. We only received about a tenth of an inch, but it was enough to wash the dust off the leaves and to slow harvest a bit. On Friday there were a few widely scattered clouds and showers. Next week will be warm again and we will complete almond harvest.

There was enough rain to moisten nuts on the ground. We were careful to pick up all the nuts that were wind-rowed prior to the rain. Any nuts on the ground, such as these Monterey almonds, are scattered and will dry again quickly with the coming sunshine. Note the shiny leaves, all that dust is gone!

Monterey - 8/28/2014

 HARVEST RECORD!
Not a yield record, but a record early harvest for Monterey variety in Stanislaus County. This may have happened in southern counties in the past, but, to my knowledge, never this early here. The shake is clean and the nuts are filled out, this is not due to stress.  (OK, full disclosure, this site is technically in Merced County, but it is right next to the county line with Stanislaus)

Spinner Type Micro Sprinklers, Stressed Pollenators

    Drip Vs. Micros
During orchard establishment an important decision is choosing the type of irrigation system. Most new orchards use some sort of micro irrigation system because of energy and water efficiency and improved production. There are pros and cons to each type of system.
One difference is very evident this time of year. Micro sprinklers must be turned off after the first variety is shaken to the ground to avoid getting the nuts wet. This can result in stress to the other varieties that are still carrying a crop. Drip lines allow us to continue to irrigate the later varieties and avoid that stress.

Drip Irrigation, Pollenators Not Stressed

Nonpareil harvest is in full swing. Here is a nice windrow in some 5th leaf trees, and nuts being loaded for a trip to the huller.
Our huller is telling us that most growers are coming in lighter than last year. We are a fortunate exception to that so far with improvements over last year in the blocks we have harvested.

Harvest is in full swing in our area. The sound of shakers can be heard everywhere and a lot of nuts are on the ground. Here we are picking up wind-rowed Nonpareil. The yield of the first orchard we completed was improved from last year and in this one it looks like it will be about the same as last year. Interestingly, our hullerman is reporting that so far, most local growers are picking up fewer loads than last year. We will know much more about yields in a couple weeks.