What's being harvested now?

With Fresno County‘s diverse agriculture, some type of crop is harvested every month.

In November, the types of crops that typically are harvested include late-season strawberries, persimmons, pomegranates, early Naval oranges, late-season table grapes, walnuts, and late-season almonds.

Pictured here, the Hachiya and Fuyu varieties of persimmons are both ripe for harvest. The Hachiya is a large, oblong shaped fruit with glossy, deep-orange skin. It is sweet and rich, and is good for drying. The Fuyu (Fuyugaki) is a medium, “squatty”-shaped fruit. The skin is deep-orange, with light-orange flesh. It too is sweet, yet is mild in flavor. The fruit keeps well and is an excellent packer and shipper.

In addition, several vegetable crops continue to be harvested, especially the wide array of specialty vegetables sold through year-round Farmers Markets. These include such crops as bitter melon, bok choy, long beans and lemon grass.

The major vegetable being harvested in the fall is head lettuce. For a six-week period in the spring and fall, about 95 percent of the head lettuce comes from western Fresno County, near Huron and Five Points. The Fresno County area provides an important marketing window for lettuce growers-shippers to continue to provide high-quality, domestically produced fresh lettuce.

Cotton harvest is just about over, with most of the important fiber removed from the plant and awaiting the ginning process. Cotton will be ginned well into the winter months. With the season winding down, some corn grain and silage acreage continued the various stages of growth, harvest, irrigation, fertilization and treatment to control weeds and insects.  

What’s happening in the fields?

Although most of Fresno County’s major crops have already been harvested, work continues on the farms. This is the time of year that growers of permanent crops, like grapes, tree fruits and nuts, make decisions to change varieties or even crops. Shown here, grape vines are being removed to make way for a new crop. These table grapes near Sanger will be replaced with peach trees.

Many growers of permanent crops also use cover crops, as shown here, to help put important nutrients and organic matter back into the soil. This cover crop, planted in late-October, is beginning to emerge and will continue to grow until it will be disked-under in early spring. Also called “green manure,” cover crops can consist of different types of grasses, vetch, clover and/or beans.

Also, orchard and vineyard farmers are beginning to prune deciduous trees and vines in preparation for next year’s crops. Once the colorful leaves drop, skilled farm employees will prune away unwanted branches and brush, leaving fruit wood that will produce next year’s bounty.

The fall also is the time of year that many growers of both permanent and annual crops cultivate and prepare their fields for next year’s crops. This vineyard north of Parlier is freshly cultivated, ready to accept whatever rain comes. Growers throughout Fresno County are praying for abundant rain and snow events this winter. Surface water supplies help relieve the “full-time” need for groundwater supplies. By using surface water for irrigation, growers help to recharge the underground aquifer, which is the major drinking water source for almost all of the cities and communities within Fresno County.