Bay Area cherry picking season starts early this year due to record March heat

BRENTWOOD, Calif. (KGO) -- Record heat in March not only shattered temperature records but also moved up cherry season in Brentwood, prompting families to visit orchards earlier than usual and growers to anticipate peak picking over Mother's Day weekend.

At The Cherry Pit, a family-run orchard operated by husband and wife Laura and Dustan Diiorio, the season is already in full swing. Their orchards date back to the 1800s starting with Laura's great-great-great grandfather, with several relatives running neighboring farms, making cherry growing a multigenerational effort.

"If you start pulling these layers back, and then you can see some fruit in here down this branch," one grower said while demonstrating how cherries develop beneath the leaves.

Growing cherries requires careful attention, and this year's weather has been a key factor. March's heat wave affected later-blooming varieties, which were more vulnerable during the spike in temperatures.

"When it gets too hot, you actually see some of the bloom start to fail or burn off," Dustan said.

Fortunately, many of the most popular cherry varieties had already begun forming by the time the heat hit, helping preserve some of the crop and accelerating the overall season.

"Because in March, when that heatwave happened, a lot of our later varieties were in bloom. Thankfully, the corals in our early ones had the cherries were starting to form so they weren't as in danger," Laura explained.

As a result, growers say some of the best cherries are arriving earlier than usual. The Coral variety, a favorite among visitors, is already at peak quality.

"We're ahead by about 10 days or so. And so this is a really I would describe it as like the peak time for our best cherry, which is for most people, the coral, cherry," Dustan said.

That shift means Mother's Day weekend is expected to be an ideal time for visitors to pick fruit. The Cherry Pit opened one location last weekend and is welcoming pickers to a second orchard this weekend. Families have already begun taking advantage of the early season, filling baskets as they move through the rows of trees. Growers note that picking cherries with the stem intact can take practice, but it is key to maintaining freshness.

"The nutrients kind of continue to feed the cherry as opposed to leaving the stem behind. Yeah and in the water," Dustain and Laura explained.

While the early harvest is good news for those eager to pick, the heat has also reduced yields for some later varieties. For visitors, that means timing matters more than ever this year. With the season pushed forward, those who arrive early will find the best selection before some varieties disappear.

In Brentwood, the shift underscores how changing weather patterns can reshape even long-standing agricultural traditions - and why, for cherry lovers, earlier may be better this year.