Today is August 1st, and this is usually a milestone day for the Jealous Fruits team. We take stock of July sales, and look forward to what is still in store. This year, as of today, we will have completed 33% of our harvest, with 67% of the crop still on the trees!
We are scheduled to begin harvest of our sought after Staccato variety on Monday, August 2nd.
Staccato
Of our remaining 2021 crop, over 80 % is composed of late season Summerland varieties - Staccato, Sovereign, and Sentennial. These August ripening cherries remain our claim to fame at Jealous Fruits. All three of these varieties are master piece creations of successive breeders at the Summerland research station – pioneers like Dr Lapins, Dr Lane, and Dr Kappel. The Canadian government breeding program started in the 1930’s, and has culminated now in genetic material that ripen three to four weeks after old standards like Bing. These late varieties are particularly well suited to the Canadian climate, where they ripen during August days that feature moderate daytime temperatures, along with cool nights. It is these specific climatic conditions that create the firmness, high sugar, and deep red colour so characteristic of Canadian cherries.
Sovereign
The Canadian cherry industry as a whole benefits by our northerly latitude, providing this late season advantage. At Jealous Fruits, we have taken this to the next level (figuratively and literally), by planting not only at northerly latitudes, but also at high altitude. Two thirds of our Staccato, Sentennial and Sovereign trees are planted in orchards that range in elevation from 1900 to 2600 feet, adding a full fourteen days to the harvest schedule compared to our valley sites.
Sentennial
This year's crops of Staccato, Sovereign and Sentennial will be offered for offshore sale by both air and sea shipment. And of course, our logistics department will arrange ground transportation for customers across North America.
Other News
In addition to our late ripening cultivars, we will also continue to have modest supplies of Skeena, Regina and Sweethearts, also coming from our high altitude farms.
Regina
The Jealous Fruits Regina harvest is now 80% complete, with just our high altitude Cholla Hills farm still harvesting. We want to thank our customers for their stellar support on this year’s Regina crop. We are very proud of the Regina packs we produced in 2021, and pleased to hear of strong arrivals in all markets.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
We look forward to continuing to supply high quality cherries through the month of August!