The Cherry Harvest
At this time of year our fruits are starting to ripen and it has been a very good season for the dwarf cherry tree with over 10 Kilos of fruit picked over the last two weeks.
Ripe cherries hanging on the tree
Protecting the fruit from the birds is usually done by netting the tree, but it is just a little too big now to achieve this without causing a hernia, so this year we tried CD's tied in the branches, this technique worked very well.
You can use old ones and unwanted freebies that arrive in the Sunday papers, or we found that Middlesex University sell them at £1.50 for 30 blanks.
We threaded garden string through each one and then hung them in the tree branches (just like decorating a Christmas tree).
blank CD's threaded with garden string.
Cherries are picked complete with their stems to avoid damaging the fruit and then destoned using a cherry and olive stoner.
CD's in branches of cherry tree
We purchased ours through Ascott Smallholding Supplies and have to say that we are very pleased with the ease of handling and the short work it made of removing the stones.
We do recommend holding the stoner into a large pot or bowl, unless you fancy redecorating your kitchen.
Some of our cherries were used right away to make a crumble cake...(recipe to follow) and the rest were frozen for later use.
Cherry stoning tool
