Cherry stats, 2020

Cherry stats: last year, I picked 30 pounds of cherries, or so it says in my notes. 

And in some ways, knowing this fact is very useful, because we picked those cherries on June 22, 2019, and on June 22, 2020 I opened the very last jar of cherries, so I know 30 pounds is a good amount for my household.    

Alas, when we headed out for cherry-picking this year, knowing that fact doesn't help much with planning . . . it's kind of like someone saying you should have "20 to 25 grams of protein after exercise".  Who the heck serves protein by the gram?  And when I take my family into the cherry orchard with me, how many buckets will I need?

B-child didn't pick any cherries at all.

So this year, I decided to take more careful, actionable notes, so next year I have a better idea of space, money, time.   How many buckets did we fill?  (Approximately one 5-gallon bucket in total, which is $66 for 26 pounds of cherries; this year's crop is less abundant than last years's).

A-child loves being in the trees. 
Heck, so do I.

Also a good idea to bring:  cold water.  Buckets with handles.  

How much time to set aside?   

• Two hours for the picking expedition, and that includes driving time.  Also, now I know a better route to take from my new home to the orchard.
• Two hours to decompress from picking cherries. 
• Two-to-three hours for pitting cherries.  It helps to have a bunch of videos lined up.
• Three hours for canning.

All of this goes into my tickler file, ready to ping me in early June, reminding me to check picking dates, because they fly by so quickly (this year our Pick-your-own orchard says sweet cherry picking lasts one week only.  It was now or next year).

Sharing a ladder. 
I love this orchard's 3-legged ladders!

I love going picking; being in the middle of the cherry trees is so much like being in a magic kingdom.  The sun is so hot, but the trees are shady and cool, and you just reach up and sweet food falls into your hands and into your buckets.   There are people all around -- but not close enough to see; we hear their voices, and the voices are so happy.   In my particular orchard, a lot of the other people picking were speaking in lilting languages I couldn't follow --- I'm guessing Vietnamese and Cambodian.  It was beautiful.  

So, now I have a bunch of jars of cherries, and also a bunch of jars of cherry juice.   I didn't set aside any cherries for drying in my solar dehydrator, but four jars didn't seal, so maybe I'll just work with those.