You will never hear me complain about winter weather. It is a lot easier for me to warm up in winter than cool off in summer. [ I have not found a job where someone will pay me to be neck deep in a swimming pool all afternoon.] But, I do know that a lot of people get prefer summer and many get depressed during the winter, especially when we don't see the sun for a long time.
For an almond farmer the important part of winter are the chilling hours. For our trees to go properly dormant we need a certain amount of cold temps. UC Davis has done the math and they have a website to monitor chilling hours.
Of course there is not a lot I can do to change the chilling hours. They are what they are. In spite of the cold weather the past few weeks it has been a relatively mild winter so far. In fact, the almonds are already pushing. The new buds have begun to swell. Normally this is welcome sign of Spring. But, I know that there is still potential of some crappy weather over the next six weeks. Almond blossoms are fairly delicate: they are crushed by even light frost, and a light rain can trigger fungus that rots the blossoms.
Personally, for the almonds' sake I would prefer it to stay cold for a few more weeks. But, like many other things in farming we take what we get and in the words of Clint Eastwood's character, Gunnery Sgt Tom Hiway, in the movie 'Heartbreack Ridge', we "Adapt, Innovate and Overcome."
I hope y'all have a great week.
P
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