Video: Cherry Creek Orchards Impacted By Mild Winter, Warmer Weather

PONTOTOC, MISS. (WCBI) – Typically, this time of year, Cherry Creek Orchards is open at its Highway 346 location. However, a late frost in March meant fewer peaches for the two earliest varieties.

“Right now we just don’t have enough to open up yet so we’re taking what little we have to the Farmer’s Market in Tupelo and Oxford right now and hopefully in a couple of weeks we will be able to open out here,” said Amanda Stark, owner of Cherry Creek Orchards.

The late frost wasn’t the only negative impact here at the orchards, there simply wasn’t a long enough winter and that has caused other problems.

“What we didn’t realize was that some of the later varieties weren’t getting enough chilling hours, and that means that they just weren’t dormant long enough, they didn’t have enough sleeping time , I guess,” Stark said.
Amanda spends a lot of time driving through the orchards, inspecting thousands of peach trees and other fruits, such as nectarines, plums, blackberries, watermelons , cantaloupes and tomatoes.

Right now, it’s too early to tell how the weather impacted the bottom line for Cherry Creek Orchards, but the peaches that have been harvested so far, live up to their reputation.

The peaches may not be as plentiful this year, but they will be worth the wait.

The best way to see when Cherry Creek Orchards is opened to the public is to check out their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/cherrycreekorchards