Update from the Orchard (June)

The Wenatchee Valley is continuing to deliver excellent growing conditions for our Orondo Ruby cherries. With our first harvest expected in the next week, the orchards are exploding with sun-soaked cherries and a collective energy that marks the pending arrival of  the 2013 Orondo Ruby season.

As we enter the home stretch, we’re doing everything we can to protect the cherries on the trees. Whether its having helicopters on standby to blow away any rain or “shoo-ing” the birds away so they don’t nibble at the cherries (They would be more welcome if they ate an entire cherry, rather than one bite out of multiple cherries!), all attention is focused on bringing you the highest quality cherries available.

With all hands on deck, we’re really close to another great season of sweet, vibrant Orondo Rubies. Stay tuned for more updates from the orchard including where you can pick up some of your own. The wait is almost over!

Orondo Ruby a supersweet showstopper for Chelan Fresh

 

Article by Lora Abcarian, The Produce News, June 5, 2013

Chelan Fresh Marketing expects to generate marketplace buzz in 2013 with the Orondo Ruby cherry variety. 

Read the full article

Orchard Photos, June 2013

Here are a few photos from our most recent trip to the Orondo Ruby orchard in Wenatchee, Washington. It was such a beautiful day!

We're looking forward to the Orondo Ruby harvest, which is just around the corner. Stay tuned for details on where you can pick up some of these delicious cherries.

Meet Johnny Griggs, Orchardist

For Johnny Griggs, filling the role of Orchard Manager for our Orondo operation was something that he was born to do. Five generations prior, the Griggs family homesteaded in Orondo, WA.  It was here that they planted the first cherry tree in Douglas County - Johnny Griggs now oversees an operation much larger but still heavily rooted in family.

Johnny graduated from the Wenatchee Valley College Tree Fruit Production program in 1997. Though fresh out of school, there was nothing green about Johnny’s real world, fruit growing background. Having grown up in an orchard with dreams of someday becoming an orchardist himself, Johnny’s transition into orchard management was as easy going as his demeanor.

Sixteen years after first starting the job, there is no such thing as a typical day in the life of an orchard manager. For him, this is part of the excitement of the job. Alongside this fluidity, Johnny thoroughly enjoys working outside and being self-supervised, all qualities that provide for the ultimate reward of harvest season.

When away from the orchard, it comes as no surprise that Johnny surrounds himself with what he’s always known - family. His down time is spent with his kids, their sports, and with whatever time is leftover, more family. Perhaps yet another Griggs will head into the world of growing fruit.

The Griggs family is known to grow some of the best fruit in the world. Spend time with Johnny and you’ll quickly know why: growing fruit comes as natural to him as it has for his family for generations. We love that he’s a part of the Orondo Ruby journey.

Here’s to yet another amazing season of Orondo Ruby cherries, from our family to yours.

Update from the Orchard (May)

With the symbolic arrival of spring’s beautiful white cherry blossoms, we begin the countdown to yet another amazing year of Orondo Ruby cherries. This year’s bloom arrived a little earlier than normal, around April 10th. With this, we kept a very close eye on some unusually cold late April nights. Luckily we made it through with no damage.

A common rule of thumb for fruit growers is to plan for harvest approximately 60 to 70 days after the spring bloom. While mother nature is surely in charge, our summer harvest calendars are penciled for mid-to-late June. The very hot temperatures that baked the Wenatchee Valley in early May are perfect growing conditions. Our lovely Orondo Rubycherries soaked up every minute of it.

We’re looking forward to the hustle we all know as harvest season here in Washington’s fruit country. We call it harvest, you call it summer. Each year, we love hearing the stories about how our OrondoRuby cherries were a part of your summer enjoyment. We can’t wait for more - we know you’re thinking the same.

Cheers to cherry season!