Great looking crop! Way ahead of mine, which just hit peak bloom 2 or 3 days ago.
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Mine were great last year, this year my Carmine Jewels look like a graveyard of skeletons, I noticed some Ambrosia Beetle frass extrusions on them and they proceeded to decline, Most are putting up a lot of suckers from roots, but varied areas from the original base.
Mine did not get enough chill this year, along with my pears and some blackberries.
Sorry to hear that Struteldog I’ve never seen those beetles before. Do they attack stone fruit only or all trees?
OMG. I just looked up Ambrosia Beetles and now I know what killed one or my multi-budded mulberry trees. It had the tell-tale frass just before it died.
Looks great Clark. What a nice early harvest. That is, if you can keep the birds off them. Our little volunteer cherry tree had its fruit picked clean this week by the winged varmits.
Can’t wait for our little RS bushes to produce, but that’ll be another two years at least, along with the apples, and maybe pears. But maybe we’ll have gooseberries, raspberries and strawberries next year!
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The birds are so stuffed on mulberries they can hardly eat another bite. I lost a quart maybe last year to cardinals if that many. We have so many gallons we have a hard time picking all of them. Production is way up this year. Carmine Jewell really don’t hit peak production until the 5th to 7th year is what I’m finding In this poor soil.
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Not just stone fruit Clark, See below post They will attack a lot of things. I have had them in prior years to a degree, but they were worse this year, and have killed trees that normally are pretty carfree, The really hit figs and Pomegranates hard in years prior and did this year as well, They have attacked 3 of my Pawpaw this year, but I noticed one is sprouting a shoot low on trunk, so maybe some hope. The killed another Shangri La Mullbery this year They killed one last year and I mean even the roots. They have killed all my 4 cultivar apricots over the last couple year only rootstock came back. This year they hit my Blake’s Pride Euro pear and Shinseiki Asian pear and thought they were lost but the Shinseiki releafed and it looks like the Blake’s Pride might at least from above graft. They seem to hit right after things are leafing out and the foliage all wilts. They might have hit other things as well, that I didn’t notice and didn’t wilt I know I saw them on an apple but not a lot of holes. I have not noticed their frass on persimmons but lost a couple that sure acted like it was but I never spotted a bore hole. If a rain comes or even a strong wind much of the Sawdust toothpick like extrusions gets wiped away and harder to notice. I have lost a couple plums, they were on my Montmorency Cherry but they never wilted just looking weak. I am going to really try spray for them next year on trunk, timing can be tough but reading it seems after they are in the tree treatment is limited.
The trees in the pic are 5-6 foot and healthy and fruiting strong last year as single trunk trees, Not mowing around as you can kind of see in 2nd pic most have all kinds of suckers coming from roots noe that the main trunk is dead. They should be true to type as these are not grafted.
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Wow, I hope they don’t migrate to my area. They are very destructive.
Tony
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Those beetles sound terrible. Do they have a weakness? I would hit them hard with whatever spray they are susceptible to and wipe them out. Likely easier said than done.
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My Carmine jewel has never been sweet even I let the fruits turned very dark. It is always tart, but a little higher brix make it tastes better, more of sweet/acidic balanced
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they mediocre for me fresh but I eat a few. They do make fantastic pies and cobblers.
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I only eat it fresh or juice it. I don’t eat pie, am trying to limit sugar intakes
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Not to mention that pie dough is half shortening or butter.
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Not I am overweight, I am on size zero for the past 15 years. But if I don’t watch what I eat, my size will go up really soon and much harder to come down. I much prefer to get sugar/grease in nature way, through eating real fruits, or through drinking whole milk or eating meat. The less processed food, the better for me.
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That and the sugar does concern me but I do succumb to unhealthy pleasures occasionally. 
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I have never let mine get very dark. I feel I’m on a race with the flies. I should have cut mine back last year and the tall full bush is covered with cherries which are mostly smaller so more work to pit for the same weight of pitted fruit. I haven’t seen a worm yet this year but I have certainly seen a lot of flies. Maybe today I’ll see a worm. I read five to nine days to hatch after eggs deposited. I’ve frozen 7 pitted quarts so far. I started earlier to spread out the pitting work. I’m finding them quite good to eat and am not sorry I started early. How do you juice your cherries.
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I eat most of my sour cherries fresh now. The rest I freeze it for juice late
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