Cherries!!!

Cherries!

What a wonderful word.

Nature's original tree ornaments!

The first harvest of the year is upon us and it is a bit unexpected. Typically strawberries are the first thing I get off my little farm, but this year the cherry tree has exploded in wonderful little cherries.

Last year my little tree didn't even produce enough to make a pie but as you can see, this is not last year!



The view from my front window.



I have one sour cherry tree that I have in my front yard. I love it because not only is it very ornamental, it produces beautiful sour cherries that are fantastic in pies, delicious as a syrup on pancakes or ice cream, an excellent add in for homemade cough syrup and a powerful aid to help with arthritis. This year I plan on making all of these things and more depending on how many cherries we get.

 

This is what we got for just an hour of picking. As you can see my tree is not very large. I recently read in one of my gardening books that a typical cherry tree can typically produce up to 40 lbs of cherries. I'm thinking of getting a second one so I can barter with the local farm market for things I don't grow.



YUM!





From tree to table in less than
two hours.



In my next blog I'll show you what I'm doing with these cherries to get as much as I can out them and put away food for my family. We'll also talk about the Homefront Strategy as I put it into practice for my own family. I hope to inspire you to do the same. A trip to your local pick-your-own is not only a great family experience, it also helps to fill your larder. Take an inventory of what your family enjoys eatting and what they may be willing to try.

When you make your own ingredients, you can have a gourmet meal

that costs pennies!