Bloom-to-harvest windows for Central Valley crops

California crop calendar.

Bloom, hull split, veraison, and harvest windows for the six crops Lena knows best — timed to degree-day accumulation, not just the calendar month, because a warm spring shifts every stage earlier and a cold one pushes it back.

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The calendar is a starting point.

A fixed date like "spray for Navel Orangeworm in early July" is only right in an average year. Lena tracks accumulated growing degree-days (GDD) from a crop-specific base temperature and tells you where your actual orchard sits against the phenology model — so a warm March that pulls almond bloom two weeks early also pulls the hull-split spray window two weeks early with it.

The windows below are typical ranges for Central Valley conditions. Your farm's actual dates will shift with local microclimate, elevation, and the current season's weather — which is exactly what Lena adjusts for in the app.

Bloom to harvest.

🌰
Almonds
Bloom late Feb–early Mar (frost risk critical). Hull split late Jun–Jul — Navel Orangeworm spray timing window. Harvest Aug–Sept. Needs ~400–600 chill hours and 2+ pollinizer varieties.
🥜
Pistachios
Bloom late March (wind-pollinated, ~1:10 male:female ratio needed). Shell hardening May–June. Kernel fill July–Aug, peak water demand. Harvest Sept. Strong alternate-bearing cycle.
🍇
Wine Grapes
Bud break March (frost-sensitive). Bloom May — powdery mildew program begins. Veraison July. Harvest Aug–Oct depending on varietal and target Brix. Winkler Region III–IV in the Central Valley.
🌳
Walnuts
Dormant chill requirement ~500–700 hours. Leaf-out March — walnut blight spray window opens. Bloom April. Nut fill May–Aug. Harvest Sept–Oct, staggered by variety.
🍅
Processing Tomatoes
Transplanted (not direct-seeded) late Mar–May, staggered across the season. Flowering 4–6 weeks post-transplant. Harvest Jul–Sept, single mechanical pass.
🍊
Citrus (Navel Orange)
Bloom Mar–Apr. Fruit growth Jun–Oct. Color break Nov (needs cool nights). Harvest Nov–Jan, hand-picked. ACP/HLB monitoring runs year-round, not seasonally.

Same crop, different year.

A cool, wet spring delays bloom and pushes every downstream stage later — which can be good news for frost risk but bad news if it compresses your harvest window against fall rain. A warm winter with insufficient chill hours can cause uneven, staggered bloom in almonds and pistachios, which spreads out — rather than tightens — your spray and harvest timing. Lena's degree-day tracking is built to catch these shifts in-season rather than assuming last year's calendar repeats.

Crops on this calendar
Full pest, disease, and irrigation guidance available for each — online and offline:
🌰 Almonds🥜 Pistachios🍇 Wine Grapes🌳 Walnuts🍅 Processing Tomatoes🍊 Citrus (Navel Orange)

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