How Sweet It Is : Agriculture: About 30 Leona Valley farms are expected to open today for the annual ‘u-pick’ cherry season.

Tens of thousands of cherries are ripening on trees throughout this region, readying for the start of the annual “u-pick” season.

Nearly all of the 30 cherry farms in Leona Valley are expected to be open to the public today.

Growers said that although Leona Valley did not get as much rainfall this past winter as last year, there is an abundance of cherries.

“It looks like a very good crop this year,” said John Mayfield, owner of Big John’s Cherry Orchard. “That last freeze we had. . . looked like we were going to be in trouble, but it didn’t last long enough (to hurt the cherries).”

Bernadette Fluharty, secretary for the Leona Valley Cherry Growers Assn., said the cold spell slightly affected the crop at some orchards, but even so the “fruit is plentiful. There will be a lot for the people to pick at.”

Now all that is needed is a little more warm weather to make the cherries ripe enough for picking, Mayfield said. “Some of those trees in another week or two are really going to look beautiful. Some of the limbs are (so heavy with fruit they’re) just about to the ground.”

Unlike most other fruit, Fluharty said, cherries do not ripen once they have been picked. “When you pick the cherry off the tree, that’s how it’s going to be.”

Before picking, growers suggest taste-testing the fruit. “Every tree has its own taste, so sample a cherry from the tree, and find the one you like and pick from that tree,” she said.

Orchards that are members of the town’s cherry growers association do not use pesticides or insecticides, Fluharty said, noting that members will have a sign outside their orchard indicating they belong to the association.

The handful of businesses in downtown Leona Valley will also have free maps available that show the location of all the member orchards.

For those who get carried away while picking and collect more cherries than is humanly possibly to consume right away, Fluharty said many orchards provide handouts with information about canning and drying cherries, as well as recipes for cooking with them.

Fluharty’s Northside Cherries has 300 trees, nearly all of which offer the most popular cherry--the bing.

Mayfield’s orchard includes 275 trees with bing, hearty giants, lambert and black tartarian cherries, all so-called eating or sweet varieties. “I don’t have a pie cherry on the place,” Mayfield said. “They’re too sour.”

For those who like the sour pie cherries, they will be ripe for picking at some of the Leona Valley orchards in several weeks.

Mayfield said he will be selling honey at his orchard. He makes Big John’s Honey, available in orange, buckwheat, lemon, eucalyptus and sage, from his own bee hives.

Other orchards also sell honey and other products, but the main attraction, of course, is the cherries.

The sweet-cherry season typically lasts only about three to four weeks, depending on the weather. The cherries sell for $1 to $1.25 per pound.

Growers recommend that pickers bring containers to carry the fruit home, although most orchards provide bags or boxes. And cherry pickers should wear grubby clothes because the fruit’s juice stains.

Leona Valley will officially kick off its cherry-picking season with a festival today. The all-day event, held in the tiny community’s downtown, includes a parade, craft fair, children’s games and an ugly truck contest.

To reach Leona Valley, take the Antelope Valley Freeway to Palmdale Boulevard. Head west on Palmdale Boulevard, which becomes Elizabeth Lake Road, for about 10 miles and look for the signs directing you to the orchards.

Information about when the orchards are open, when the best picking is and directions to the area are available by calling the newly established Leona Valley Cherry Information Line at (805) 266-7116.