Thanks for joining us while we share what's happening on the farm this week. If you would like more information about our family farm, please visit KingOrchards.com. You can also shop for our Montmorency Tart Cherry Products in our King Orchards Online Store.
We invite your comments, questions and suggestions.
The King Family
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The time is here! King Orchards’ sweet cherry season has officially started! This is the best crop we have had in years! We have cherries in the market for sale by the quart, flat (8 quarts), and 20 lb lug. Today we started sending U-pickers out and they are coming back with some great looking cherries! We are all getting excited for the great season ahead and hope you are as well, so bring out the family for some orchard fun!
Raspberry U-pick is also in full swing! We have tons and they are beautiful! People have been coming back from the orchard very happy with the raspberries they have picked, so be sure to check them out while you’re visiting the farm!
We are still looking at tart cherries starting around the 18th. Keep checking in with us and we will have a more accurate estimate as the week progresses.
The sweet cherries have finally begun to turn color and we can get excited about the upcoming sweet cherry season. The crows are getting in the act and we have been out shooing them away. I am anxious to get upick sweets underway. We trimmed the sweet cherry trees very hard this year. We cut away tall branches in the tops and over the center so that more sun would get to lower branches. More sun gets us larger sweeter cherries. The biggest sweetest sweet cherries are grown from buds on the base of last years new wood, followed by spurs on wood from two years ago. When we trim a tree hard it will respond with more new growth this year. Then next year we will have more basal buds with big cherries and in two years we will have more spurs with big cherries. It is my hope that upick customers will see these large cherries and fill up their buckets.
The tart cherry crop is also coming along nicely. They are still several weeks away. We are seeing lots of fruit in the trees throughout the many blocks of tart cherries. The large crop means that we can economically send most of our production to be made into tart cherry juice concentrate, and still have plenty available for upick and for pitting and freezing. Dr Oz and others have done a nice job of getting the word out on the health benefits of tart cherry juice concentrate and we will need to have plenty available for sales year round. We will have the pitter going this year and if you want to pick your own cherries we will be able to pit them for you.
Our highly skilled work crew finished trimming and went right to thinning. Every peach, apricot, nectarine, and apple tree is gone over. They go over every branch and thin out the small fruit so that we can have big and sweet fruit at harvest time. We did the stone fruit first and now are in the apples. Every cluster is thinned to just one large apple. We do this to insure large fruit and it also keeps the tree growing vigorously so that we have return bloom next year.
It looks like we will have sweets about July 12, but the tart cherries look like they won’t get started until about July 18th or so. Be sure to call and check on fruit development before you drive too far. It is really hard to guess if it will warm up enough to get some sugar and color in these cherries sooner or later.
One big challenge with the cool weather this year was getting the veggies planted. We were 2 weeks late planting pumpkins, squash, cukes and pickles but we got them in and with all the rain they have started to grow better that the last few years. However, I couldn’t get out with the sweet corn planter for the last 10 days so I didn’t get as much sweet corn planted as I wanted to. Probably we have plenty for the main season but it will run out in September. It seems that sweet corn planted after the solstice doesn’t always grow very well. I will get in a half acre to see if we can grow some late season sweet corn but I am not confident.
Raspberries are coming in about a week. They look great. I forgot to mow one row so that it would have a large crop of fall berries but I think we will have plenty.
John
Many of you know Daisy, the King family’s Bernese Mountain dog that can be found wandering around the farm and market. As of June 8th, Daisy is the proud mother of two male puppies! Daisy is loving them and so is everyone on the farm! We can’t wait for them to open their eyes so they can see and explore King Orchards!
Daisy and the puppies
The pups!
The markets are starting to prepare for the busy season ahead! Our cherry crop should be very good this year! We are looking at the sweet cherry crop starting around the 12th of July and the tarts around the 18th. U-Pickers will have lots of cherries to choose from so make sure you bring the family out for some orchard fun! Our pitter will be up and running for the sweet and tart cherries. We will also be shipping fresh sweet cherries and Balaton tart cherries for anyone who can’t make it to the farm this summer. Email or call us for more information on this. If you can’t wait until the season, just remember we still have frozen tart cherries available from last season! 
Strawberry season is coming soon! We are looking at having strawberries in the market after June 20th! The asparagus is looking and tasting great! We will continue to have asparagus for the next 10 days or so.
1 comment Courtney | Crop Updates & Orchard Talk, In the Markets
“Soup!
Start with a lb of asparagus. Rinse thoroughly. Cut about an inch from woody ends, and toss them into a cup or so of chicken broth. Simmer while you do the rest. Cut the tips off and simmer just until tender (you can put ‘em in with the ends, then remove and set aside). Cut up the stems into roughly 1″ pieces. Saute with a diced sweet onion until onion is the way you like it. Add the broth from the woody ends, plus a little more if necessary. Add dill weed (plenty!), thyme, and black pepper to your liking. When the asparagus is very, very tender, blend it with an immersion blender (or the regular blender, whichever you have handy!). In a little pan, bring about 1/2 cup heavy cream to a boil and reduce it slightly. Stir this and the tips into the
soup. Add a little sea salt & pepper if you want it. People will covet your lunch.”
Thanks Tricia!
We’re still in the thick of asparagus season. Stop by the M-88 or US-31 markets from 9 until 6, and pick up a pound or ten of these fresh, delicious Michigan treats.
The King Orchards bakery is fired up for the season and turning out fresh homemade pies, cookies, muffins and donuts.
Strawberry season should be starting soon. We’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, we’ve put together our top ten list of ways to enjoy fresh Michigan asparagus. Feel free to comment below to share your own tips and recipe ideas.
Top 10 Ways to Eat Asparagus
1. Grilled with sea salt
2. Soup
3. Sauteed in Soy Sauce
4. Baked/Broiled in Olive Oil
5. Boiled
6. Quiche
7. Pickled
8. Scrambled Eggs
9. Casserole
10. Raw!
0 comments Courtney | Crop Updates & Orchard Talk, In the Markets
Asparagus is here and it is AWESOME!!!! Stop in to see us at M-88 or US-31 Monday-Saturday 9am-6pm and on Sunday from 12-4pm. Hope to see you!
Getting Started:
Cherry juice concentrate should be refrigerated upon arrival. You can store it for 6 months in the refrigerator or 12 months in the freezer. King Orchards cherry juice concentrate is concentrated to 68 brix; It won’t freeze solid or expand in the freezer.
Mixing cherry juice:
For a single glass of cherry juice, we recommend a mix of 7 parts water to 1 part concentrate. That’s 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) of concentrate for an 8 ounce glass of juice.
Another easy recipe is to mix 1/2 cup of cherry juice concentrate with 3 1/2 cups of water. This makes 1 quart of juice. We suggest making no more than a quart in advance, to minimize the possibility of spoilage.
Get Creative!
King Orchards tart cherry juice concentrate is 100% Montmorency cherries. That means it’s pure fruit, so feel free to experiment! Try mixing with club soda, orange or apple juice. A bit of tart cherry juice adds a nice flavor twist to summer lemonade, and is also a great cocktail mixer. We have many customers who add cherry juice concentrate to their yogurt and oatmeal, too. It’s a sweet and sour delight over ice cream. Tart cherry juice concentrate gives everything a boost of natural cherry pie flavor.
Do you have a great cherry juice recipe?
If you have your own tart cherry juice recipes or serving suggestions, we’d love to hear and share them. Jot us a note in the comment section, or give us a call toll-free at 877-937-5464.
Cheers! and as always, thank you for supporting Michigan cherry growers!
1 comment admin | Cherry Juice Recipes, King Orchards Cherry Products
