FARM TOUR 2022: BURKART ORGANICS
Stone fruit season is around the corner and our next stop was to Burkart Organics, an Earl’s exclusive, in Dinuba.
Our first breath of fresh flowers filled the senses as we met Richard Burkart and his dog. After a short introduction, we dove right in, following him to assess the damage from a recent frost. We passed recently planted saplings – persimmons and jujubes for his LA farmers markets – on the way to the pink flowers that indicate nectarines or peaches (as opposed to the white blossoms of plums and apricots). The sheer amount of beautiful flowers seemed to indicate that his trees were safe... but Richard explained that the number of blossoms doesn’t necessarily mean a full set of fruit.
Richard Burkart with Jonathan from Earl’s Organic
Now each grower has a unique style of tree-care, but Richard explained some of the intricacies of his operation, sharing what he saw as we wandered the rows. “A long time ago it was more predictable, maybe in the ‘80s and ‘90s”, he told us. This year the rain came early, and the frost came late: we arrived somewhere between the pink bud and bloom stages of growth – soon the petals would fall, and the fruit would begin to “shed their jackets” (emerge from the tiny bud). Once shed, the fruit becomes especially vulnerable to frost, but the frost damage may have already been done. “We’ll find out at thinning time,” where his crew of 8-10 will remove budding fruits to improve the quality of what remains.
Richard spoke of other challenges: “That’s not very much, we don’t have very much”, he said, pointing to the snow-capped mountains in the distance. For now, the trees didn’t need much – the biggest influx of water comes in the last month before harvest, to fatten up the fruit. But the lack of rain was notable to him, as was the lack of chill. He shared that the past eight years have not seen enough chill hours, which can lead to uneven blooming patterns, and the warm days create more opportunity for pest pressure. Such factors led him to divine that citrus may have a stronger chance in the Valley, a hypothesis he shared as we picked the last of his kumquats (a farmer always has something in the back pocket).
Spending time with Richard gave us a sense that this is simply what he does; farming stone fruit brings him joy, a central part of who he is and has been. He’s trying things, such as adding swaths of compost around his new trees and testing out PH adjustments to the soil. He dug his well deeper, spending ninety grand to dig a whopping 450 feet into the ground. He's also waiting for a grant from the government to install drip lines for water conservation.
A partner with Earl’s from the start, he’s been shuffling boxes out of a truck all summer for over thirty years, and he doesn’t intend to quit any time soon!
“A long time ago it was more predictable, maybe in the ‘80s and ‘90s”
— Richard Burkart
