DOOR COUNTY - After a couple of years of unusual pick-your-own cherry seasons in Door County, things may be returning to normal for 2022. And that means those who want to head into the orchards to pick their own sweets and tarts instead of buying them at the store had best make their plans now.

The picking season of 2020 for the fruit that made Door County famous was influenced to a certain extent by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It didn't affect the cherries themselves but instead the conditions under which people could go picking, with many orchards implementing health protocols such as hand sanitizing stations, extra cleaning of cherry pails and streamlined operations.

Last year's season saw things mostly return to normal for pickers, but the season also started a week to two weeks earlier than normal — in the first few days of July instead of mid-July — because of hot, humid weather in late spring and early summer that accelerated the ripening of the fruits.

But this year, a cool spring and a warm but not overly hot early summer with limited rain have some local orchard managers saying the 2022 pick-your-own cherry crop is looking average to good. Some orchards are already open for tart cherry picking and most will be open by July 15. Those that offer sweet cherries opened the first week of the month.

"It was kind of cool this spring," said Tracy Robertoy, part-owner and manager of Hyline Orchard Farm Market in Fish Creek. "That slowed it up a little bit, but it's looking like a good crop out there."

Robertoy said she expects to open for tart cherry picking between Sunday and July 15, depending on the weather in the next few days, after opening July 5 last year. She said the orchard's crop should last between two and three weeks.

Farther south on the Peninsula, Alexander's Cherry Orchard in Brussels planned to open for tart cherries either Friday or Sunday, again depending on the weather in the preceding days, which is about when it opened last year.

Karen Alexander, who owns and manages the orchard with her husband, Gary, said the dry weather of the past couple of months was a bigger factor than the temperature in determining the size and ripeness of their crop. She said the July 4 downpour that struck northeast Wisconsin helped get their cherries closer to being ready for picking.

"It's an average crop (this year), certainly not a bumper crop," Alexander said. "Some trees are loaded, some not. I'd say it's running a little smaller because of the lack of rain. " 

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Alexander thinks the season will last a couple of weeks at their orchard and she expects to be very busy, based on calls and messages from potential pickers. She also expects to see people who may have been scared away from traveling to Door County because of the pandemic, along the lines of this summer's national trend of what's being called "revenge tourism." 

"It seems people are very anxious to get out and pick this year," she said. "I think a lot were still staying inside last year because of COVID. We've had a lot of inquiries."

Here's a list of cherry orchards holding pick-your-own seasons in Door County, gathered from websites and phone calls. Picking season can run anywhere from a week or less to a month, depending on the size of the orchards, the number of customers and type of cherries (the tart cherry season usually runs longer than sweets), so end dates depend on how long cherries are available for picking. Interested pickers should call the orchards or visit their websites, especially their Facebook pages, for the latest information, including projected closing dates. A number of orchards accept cash or check only for payment. Also, remember that most offer pre-picked fresh cherries for sale as well as other cherry goods.

General countywide information also is available at wisconsincherrygrowers.org/pick-your-own-cherries.html or facebook.com/Doorcountycherries.

Contact Christopher Clough at 920-741-7952, 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.