While it may seem early, tart cherries are almost ready in backyard and commercial orchards in Northern Illinois. The tart cherry harvest season will begin in the next two weeks, towards the middle and end of June, maybe even sooner.

“June remains an active month for specialty crops. At farms in Jo Daviess and Stephenson counties, we wrap-up rhubarb and asparagus, start strawberry season, and then follow that up with tart cherries” states Grant McCarty, Local Foods and Small Farms Educator, University of Illinois Extension. “We don’t see as many tart cherry u-pick orchards, but you may find them at your local farmers market or certainly in the backyard.”

Like their name denotes, these cherries have a sour quality to them that makes them ideal for baking, cooking, and using in recipes that are combined with sugar. They tend to be very juicy with a good amount of acid in them. These cherries, also called sour, are in the stone fruit family which includes peach, apricot, plum, and others. “Commonly, tart cherries are the only consistent member of this family for growers in Northern Illinois as they can withstand the cold climate each year and you just need one tree for a yearly crop. Sweet cherries can be more difficult to grow in our region as most varieties require more than one variety for cross-pollination.” McCarty continues.

A ripe cherry is ready to be picked if it has the right color, firmness, and comes off the stem easily. Cherries do not ripen further after they have been picked. “You may find that you may want to keep these cherries on the tree a bit longer in order to develop; but if you wait too long, birds may get to them before you can”

During the weekend of July 12 to 14 and the week of July 15, we had some farms that received quite a lot of rain and severe winds. Some farms reported receiving 7-8 inches of rain while others, like in the Freeport area, had about 3-4 inches. This was combined with very warm temperatures (above 90 F). The end of the week had us drying out and low temperatures dipping into the 50s and 60 s F.  

In the same week, I visited Freeport High School’s (Freeport, IL) Student Vegetable Farm. They run a CSA, farm stand, and attend a weekly farmers market. These students are involved in all aspects of production before and during the growing season. Like other vegetable growers in the region, cool season crops are in peak harvest and warm season crops are right around the corner. Sweet corn season began last week for growers. Insect/disease pressure does look a bit low this year but still varies from farm-to-farm. 

In the Rockford region, July marks a month of transitions. Blueberry season was well under way with many growers reporting a good season at their u-pick operations. Some growers did not denote that there were delays in ripening on some varieties. Particularly 'Bluecrop' was delayed compared to others. This may have been a result of warm conditions above 90 F impacting the color ripening. The blueberry season should start wrapping up the week of July 21st for most. For fall raspberries/primocane fruiting, some of these varieties are beginning to flower in the last week and may result in an early season for this crop.  All will depend on August. 

I was out at Valley Orchard in Cherry Valley two weeks ago to see how Raoul Bergersen's apple trees were looking. With the season to start a month from now with 'Zestar!', things look pretty good for the apple season. Growers are staying on top of insect-disease management. Weeds are on many growers' minds right now as they begin to prepare these rows for u-pick. I am seeing a lot of marestail, field bindweed, and yellow nutsedge, a pretty difficult weed to control. As always, the Midwest Fruit Pest Management Guide 2023-2024 can provide the right options during this time.

The end of August in Northern Illinois marks the opening of many of the apple orchards in our region. These orchards grow a wide-range of unique and common apple varieties, with new varieties ripening each week from now until the end of October. At many of these family-owned and operated orchards, you may find pumpkins, value-added products like jams, apple cider, and donuts, and activities to keep family members entertained during your visits.   

“We’re really fortunate to have so many u-pick apple orchards, overseen by generations of families, with a wide range of different types of apples,” states Grant McCarty, Local Foods and Small Farms Educator for Jo Daviess, Stephenson, and Winnebago counties. “If you visit an orchard this early, you may not find the varieties you want or they may not be ready to be picked by customers; but orchards commonly have harvest calendars on their social media and websites that can tell you when your favorite is ripening. Most orchards open with ‘Zestar,’ a Minnesota variety, available.”

Overall, the apple crop has had a very good growing season.  “May is the make-or-break month where the trees flower, and if it’s too cold, rainy, or pollinators are not active, it can result in fewer apples later in the season. Though we’ve had periods of dry and wet conditions this summer, most varieties have done well at commercial orchards,” McCarty continues.

Though you may find common varieties of apples like ‘Fuji,’ ‘Honeycrisp,’ ‘Granny Smith,’ and ‘Gala,’ many orchards sometimes grow 25-30 varieties. “It can certainly vary, but many of our orchards are growing varieties you may have never had before, nor would you find in a grocery store. These may be similar in flavor, color, and use as those varieties you are used to. Some of these apple varieties come from the breeding programs at Midwestern Universities and the Midwest Apple Improvement Association like ‘Evercrisp’ and ‘Sweet Maia’. So this is a good time to visit an orchard and find your new favorite.”