These fifth-leaf almond trees are looking good. The subjective crop estimate (essentially a phone survey of growers guesses) is due out in about a week. My opinion of the crop is that it is good, but not as good as last years. The subjective estimate is always highly anticipated and makes for interesting conversations and market reactions once it is released.

HAIL! Two weeks ago, on April 7, we enjoyed the gift of about a half inch of rain, a blessing in this very dry year (more on that later). Sadly for a few growers, the rain came in the form of hail.

Hail is very random in nature and fortunately it did not hit any of our orchards. In this picture, sent from a friend, the hail on the ground looked like snow.

 A young vineyard shows the effects of hail, scarring of the young shoots and tattered leaves. These pictures were taken two weeks after the hail storm so there has been some regrowth, but the signs of the earlier damage are evident.

I heard that a few almond growers suffered losses to the hail, but not widespread.

From whence our water cometh. NOT! The view of the Sierra crest from the valley would typically be all white with snow in February. This year the view is mostly of exposed granite. So sad. "Big" rains are forecast to hit us this weekend. I hope the meteorologists are right this time.

Nonpareil flower buds on Monday Feb 2, 2015

Most of the Nonpareil in our area are at the early green tip stage of development at this time. A few extra-early varieties such as NePlus and Sonora are in pink bud.

 The rain, fog, and generally moist conditions have loosened the mummies and now is a great time to pole them out. Removal of mummies, referred to as orchard sanitation, is the most important activity we do for Navel Orangeworm suppression. The mummies are the overwintering site for the larvae of NOW

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.