Author Archives: Ben Gammie

A Fickle Fruit

tractorBEN’S CHERRY ESSAY for  EDIBLE CLEVELAND

June 2019

Once prolific, the number of cherry orchards has diminished through the years

I often stumble across old maps and aerial photos showing an evolution of land use on our farm, as well as those surrounding us. While recently preparing our fertilizer regimen for the season, I found a few archival photos dating back to the 1930s. The landscape was adorned with orchards throughout our little township. It appeared that most farming operations had dedicated orchard ground of some type. My father recalled the days of his youth and confirmed my observation. Orchards, including cherries, were prolific. He remembers my grandfather speaking of Pickett’s Cherry Farm located just west of us in Bellevue. That entire operation was dedicated solely to cherry production.

So, where have all the cherries gone? Was there some dramatic event that led to a decrease in cherry production? No. As it goes with most things in our lives, it was a slow evolution, a shift toward dedicating land for predictable crops of quality fruit.

Cherries, like other stone fruits, such as peaches and plums, are happier without extreme cold temperatures. The spring is a particularly vulnerable time for cherries, in that they bloom early and thus expose new green tissue to potentially damaging late freezes. And then, there are the challenges faced during the growing season: a host of rots can set in, as well as skin cracking, all brought on by excessive rain during the ripening window prior to harvesting in mid-June. Our counterparts in western Michigan have a more temperate climate that mitigates some of these factors. But the real domestic production is in Washington State, where a high, arid climate provides the necessary winter chilling hours, but avoids the humidity and pest pressure found in the Midwest. Out west, cherry orchards can receive a regular and controlled amount of water via irrigation and enjoy predictable sunny days on the slopes of the Sierras.

Read the published article with Edible Cleveland online here.  

Farm Report – From the Lens of an Orchard Guy

tractorBEN’S BULLETIN

July 2015

Impactful interactions, special stories, and tractor talk from Farmer Ben 

This winter was again a set-back for those farmers growing stone fruit (cherries, apricots, plums, peaches, nectarines).  The deep cold of early January froze out some of the buds.  Our cherry crop came through at around 75% of a crop.  We will be lucky to harvest 50% of the total yield potential from our peaches.

And then came spring… no late frosts, which is good… except we were fairly dry for about 3 weeks.  Not much rain to speak of for most of May.  Some of our new tree plantings suffered as a result.  But… wait for it… rain… in amounts unseen in 40 years according to my Dad.  The month of June was arguably the wettest on our farm since my Dad began farming…. Over 16 inches of total rainfall.  Orchards by and large are resilient to those amounts of rain.  We would much rather have rain than not.  Our tree root system established enough to endure and our sandy soils help drain water downstream and away from our orchards which have been strategically located on higher ground.  There are two negative effects to all this rain:

Our chBrooke Cherrieserry crop, already compromised from the winter, was again negatively affected in that a tree takes up too much water and distributes it to the fruit such that the flesh of a cherry grows faster than the skin and the skin cracks and splits horribly.  The crop will end up picking out at around 40%… finishing this weekend.

The peaches, especially early varieties, also have a tendency to split with the uptake of excess moisture.  There is also a potential for a less than ideal flavor since the sugars are not as concentrated in a tree that has been drinking a lot of water.  But we are blessed with peaches and that in itself is cause for celebration. First Peaches 2015 

The apple tree is perhaps the most resilient critter we have on the farm.  Those trees will take a drink whenever they can and just give us larger fruit.  In fact, the crop is shaping up to be potentially larger than last year’s harvest.  It appears that the entire country will be maximizing yields this year as well.  I will get a better handle on other parts of the country when I go to Chicago in August for an annual apple production summit hosted by U.S.Apple. 

As far as other crops are concerned… I know the sweetcorn harvest has been pushed at least a week and some fields are compromised because of standing water; the June rains completely wiped out some strawberry harvests.  The row-crop guys… that’s corn and beans… will hopefully have enough time through the rest of the summer to get some hot, dry weather to promote strong cropping. 

And this rain and cool temperatures are also feeding my lovely wife’s skepticism about any normalcy to weather in this part of the country.  Being from Phoenix… she is a bit concerned that her flip-flops and tank tops are not getting enough use.  Instead it’s her raincoat and sweaters.  She hears my Dad and I talk about “ The coldest winter since… blah, blah, blah” and “We haven’t had this much rain in… blah, blah, blah”.  The newest addition to our family, our new pup HUDSON fills our home with love, joy, and little more chaos to keep our lives full.  2015-07-03 17.28.54

Milestones this summer will include the weekend of July 18th as the first official weekend we will have homegrown peaches in over two years (no small accomplishment).  Freestone peach varieties, including Red Haven, will be starting around the 2nd weekend in August.  The first good apples, Gala, will come off the trees by the last weekend in August.

 

Reach for a Peach?

tractorBEN’S BULLETIN

November 2014

Impactful interactions, special stories, and memorable moments from Farmer Ben 

Still recovering from the economic woes of loosing the 2014 peach crop, Bill and Ben have been working diligently at planning a replacement peach block.  It should be noted that over one-third of our peach trees were lost to severe cold temperatures last winter.  Thankfully, farmers have short memories… we will be planting more peaches this spring!  Quarry Hill has occupied all the eligable well-drained ground at high elevation on their own property with other plantings.  So we reached out to one of the founding families of Berlin Heights, the Lowry’s, to partner on a new peach block. 

After a short deliberation, the family (Jim, Pie, Amy, Terri) decided it would be great to have peaches out their side yard.  And so a contract was signed sitting around the kitchen table at the Lowry place this past Monday.  Now this was quite an experience for Ben, having been a big-city land development engineer for the past decade.  Dialogue did not dwell on the particulars of contract law, but rather steered towards the way things used to be.  Such is business in a small town.  If there were ever defined a period of prosperity for the small Village of Berlin Heights, that is what Jim Lowry enjoyed reflecting on.  He recalls the town as a center for commerce and conversation. 

west main lse crossing postcard

berlin heights west street 1900As a boy, Jim noted Berlin Heights was comprised of 3 grocery stores, 2 barber shops, a hotel, countless bars, 2 tractor dealerships and about 3 times as much acreage in orchards as presently found.  Bill was quick to fall in step with stories of his youth.  It became clear to Ben that on several occasions Mr. Lowry had to reprimand Bill (known as Chip in his grade school days) for tormenting the Lowry chicken coop after school on his walk home.  One might say that the glory days of Berlin Heights are in the past… but we won’t. 

 It was a somber drive back to the farm in the truck for Ben and Bill.  Anticipating a new planting yet reflective… the last warm days of November will soon give way to winter’s chill.  Please note the southwest corner of Mason Road and Route 61 on your visit to the orchard next season.  There you will see the beginnings of our project.