Spring rains, cherry crops and a science geeky solution

Cherries are the Ferraris of produce. Everything about them is fast. They’re the fastest growing fruit on a tree — 60 days from blossom to harvest. (By contrast, Pink Lady apples take about 210 days.) And the cherry harvest lasts a turbocharged few days, because a crop can be ruined literally overnight. Spring rain on a ripe, ready-to-harvest crop makes the cherries crack.

From Bakersfield to Lodi, California orchards are the first to produce cherries each year — and they’ve had years when the entire crop was wiped out from rain. This year, some growers are trying a new product developed by an Oregon State University pharmacist and horticulturist. It’s a tasteless, odorless, elastic biofilm, 1-3 microns thick and similar to the filmlike coating on time-release medication. The film stretches as the cherry grows, protecting it from rain, like a tight-fitting parka.

The season is short and cherries spoil quickly, so buy them ($2.99 to $3.99 a pound) and enjoy them soon.

Michael Marks is the marketing manager for FreshPoint.

In the Bins

Asparagus
California, Washington
$2.99 to $3.99 per pound
Tips: Spears from Washington tend to be shorter because growers there cut off the white bottoms.
Zucchini
Local farms, Fresno, Oxnard
79 to 99 cents per pound
Tips: Smaller zucchini have smaller seeds, which means the zucchini won’t disintegrate when you cook them.
Raspberries
Local farms, Watsonville, Oxnard
$2.49 to $2.99 per basket
Tips: We are moving into the peak of the season.