Life is but a bowl of cherries!

Not to be outdone by my strawberry harvest, my lone sour cherry tree is heavy with ripe fruit. The photo is this morning's harvest (minus those I ate while picking) and I've picked that much previously. The tree is a montmorency tart cherry. It's the only one of 4 cherry trees we tried to grow which survived. This one was planted about 8 years ago, and it's the only dwarf fruit tree which stayed short for us… the apples, pears, and peaches all grew 20+ feet. Without ever doing any drastic pruning, the cherry tree stands about six feet tall. At that height, it's very easy for me to trim, spray, check, and pick! I've read that sour cherries are easier for home orchards than sweet cherries, and my little tree has had no serious pests or diseases.

Montmorency is the most popular sour cherry variety for pies and preserves. I hand pit the cherries, which produce so much juice it looks like a scene from the opening credits of "Dexter!" If someone has a good cherry pitting tool, please let me know - I expect my harvest will grow in future years, so it will be worth investing in one. Once pitted, I either freeze the cherries in zipper pint bags, or use them fresh on granola or in smoothies. For a little sweetness, I use a combo of my own stevia extract (made from organic stevia leaves I grow) with a touch of maple syrup… wonderful mixed into Greek yogurt, our used in a pie. Cherries are high in nutrients and particularly good for sufferers of gout.

I've read recently about a cherry shrub called Nanking cherry, which I'm tempted to buy and plant. I've only found them online, not at any nurseries. If you are interested in sharing an order with me, just let me know!