It's "Rainier Cherry Month!"

In celebration of "Rainier Cherry Month," we have included organic local Rainier Cherries in this week's delivery. Rainier is a cultivar of cherry. It was developed in 1952 at Washington State University by Harold Fogle, and named after Mount Rainier. It is a cross between the 'Bing' and 'Van' cultivars.

'Rainiers' are considered a premium type of cherry. They are sweet with a thin skin and thick creamy-yellow flesh. The cherries are very sensitive to temperature, wind, and rain. About 1/3 of a 'Rainier' cherry orchard's crop is eaten by birds.

The standard root stock for the 'Rainier' cherry is the Mazzard cherry, a wild or seedling sweet cherry used as grafting stock. Mature 'Rainiers' reach a height of 30 to 35 feet and are widely adaptable to a variety of soil types. Trees are well spaced to provide maximum sun exposure for individual branches, ensuring fully developed, sweet, ripe fruit at harvest time.

'Rainiers' will produce fruit in 3 to 5 years, with a bloom period in early April. The creamy light yellow to medium yellow-orange fruit develops a red blush and is ready to harvest late-June through early-July. 'Rainier' cultivars require pollination. Typical pollinators are the 'Bing', 'Van', 'Lapins', 'Black Tartarian' and 'Lambert' cultivars.

This week's delivery also includes:

- Super Sweet Cinnamon Plums - Gala Apples - Organic Red Grapes - Rainforest Alliance-Certified Bananas