Almond Pollination

California Almond growers in 2015 experienced a faster bud to blossom and almond pollination.

The California almond growers usually experience the life cycle of almonds from start to finish, from late February to October. In Chico and Vina, California this year, the California almond growers saw almond flowers blooming three weeks early, at the beginning of February.

Notice how moist the almond orchard is in these photos, which may have attributed to such quick blooming. As much as we love the rain, we hope the buds stay in place and don ‘t fall off as they are needed for almond pollination.

It’s between late February and March typically when the almond crop buds burst into a beautiful white and pink blossoms in preparation for almond pollination. Our California almond growers have been preparing for the almond pollination process. The blooming and almond pollination stages of the almonds is the part of the almond crop life cycle we are currently in.

Every springtime in California, the California almond growers almond pollination ritual that takes place with at the almond farms. This annual California almond pollination ritual in the almond orchard is the world’s largest pollination event. 99 percent of all the United States, commercial almond crop production comes from California almond growers.

Then from March to June the almond crop continues to mature. The kernel begins to form in a hardening shell, at this point they are green in the process. By July to early August, we saw the hulls begin to split open and the almonds start to dry. Right before harvest time the shells open completely. Almond trees are harvested typically between August and October and then are taken through the hulling and preparation process to get them ready to come to market. We look forward to continuing to follow the cycle of the almond harvest this year from our suppliers and keeping you posted.

This year the almond farms are off to a fast start with early bud to blossom. It will be fascinating to continue to observe the process of almond pollination and how the almond crop does from bud to harvest.

Written by Lisa Saremi