Winter
on the farm is a time when our trees are at rest. Temperatures are
cool from November through the bloom in February and this is the dormant
season for almonds. Without the nightly frosts, the trees would not
go dormant and wouldn't experience the regeneration necessary for
their yearly production.
The
winter is also a time for us to rest. After the intense activity harvest
brings us each fall, we welcome the cooler temperatures and time away
from hands-on work in the orchard to reconnect with our customers.
Throughout the winter, we continue to examine the trees for damage
from storms and use the trees dormant season to do our annual pruning.
Winter
brings much-needed rain to the Central Valley, producing dense cover
crop in the orchard. Our nearly constant winter fog also brings moisture
to the trees. When walking through the orchard in winter, it feels
as though our trees sleep beneath a cool blanket with moist air above
and damp grass below.
February
usually means time for the trees to awaken and bloom. This is the
most dramatic transformation on the farm. Almond blossoms are a joy
to behold. They have a delicate fragrance that wafts on gentle spring
breezes. Bloom typically lasts for about two weeks, during which we
hope for warm sunny days. Almonds require pollination by bees. And
bees don’t like to work in the rain (who could blame them?),
so we keep our fingers crossed that Mother Nature cooperates.
