Russ and I recently took a trip to visit with a few farmers and see how their crop was looking. We left in the morning for my favorite drive in the whole world, Glenwood to Hotchkiss. Check out some pictures from our trip below.
Mt. Sopris with a large amount of snow remaining for this time of year.
We first met with our sour cherry farmer in Hotchkiss. They grow our Balaton, Danube and Montmorency varieties. This is the 7th year in a row I’ve made this walk.
He showed me some of the issues they’ve had this spring from a late season frost.
All in all, the crop is looking in decent shape.
This is his second season owning this farm, it was crazy to have him ask me about how the crop looks since I’ve seen it at this stage more than him.
Few more weeks. This is the time when the cherries put on the mass and color.
After the first visit, we doubled back into town for some lunch.
Zack’s in Hotchkiss is a must stop for lunch. Get a slice of pie. Always get a slice of pie.
Next we drove west to visit with one of our growers to check out their sweet cherries and apricot crop.
We walked the rows to check out some massive clusters.
Harvesting begins this week with the first variety of sweet cherries, Titan.
Alas, there is so much demand for the first sweet cherries in Colorado that non is available for us. We’ll wait a week!
Next we checked out their organic apricot crop. 10,000 pounds of these babies will be here in less than a month.
Always bring beer for your growers!
Here’s to a great harvest!