Cherry Orchard Memories from 1984
It was a cold and snowy January when we moved from Seattle to Prosser with our newborn daughter. Tired of the rat race, we’d purchased a 100-acre cherry orchard with a small farmhouse in North Prosser—an agricultural community three hours east of Seattle in Washington’s Yakima Valley.
In a brief six months it would be June...cherry harvest, so we were on a steep learning curve.
Pruning takes place when trees are dormant—so we only had a month to finish pruning. Furthermore, keeping the orchard from freezing is critical for development of the fruit buds. This translates to nighttime use of wind machines and propane heaters in temperature-critical areas of the orchard.
Finally, the biggest challenge was creating an organization of people able to hand-pick 8,000 cherry trees within a 3-week period. But what I remember best about our first summer was not the great effort it took but the excitement of problem solving. We were doing it! And there were the little joys—like watching the pheasants, chukar birds, night owls, and happy farm dogs.
I learned to appreciate the quiet of living in a rural area with night skies full of stars and the newfound connection to the seasons—learning the smell, temperature, and importance of each growth stage—thrilling at the sight of millions of tiny cherry buds expanding into a canopy of white blossoms.
Within a few years twins arrived and our home was bustling with little girls under 3 years old. Every morning I’d walk the 2 miles around the orchard—my oldest daughter in a backpack and the twins in a stroller.
It was during this morning walk that I fell in love with Washington cherries. How could I not? Visually they were stunning—vibrant large green leaves covering dark red globes of sweet or golden cherries. Sampling the cherries on the tree as they became sweeter by the day was an awakening. This is how Mother Nature builds natural sugar…with patience and time.
Post-harvest, the trees appeared spent and exhausted (as did the farmers!). That said, cherries were left unpicked here and there, and for weeks after harvest we’d look for them on our morning walks. The leftover cherries were the best. Under the summer sun, the fruity globes gradually shriveled to chewy, intensely flavorful morsels, easy to pick and delicious to eat.
I began to wonder…could we glean leftover tree-ripened cherries and dehydrate them into all natural snacks? Perhaps even layer the sweet morsels in premium chocolate? Yes, we could...and we did.
After years of experimentation that began with a humble tests in my own kitchen to the creation of custom-designed air tunnels, a nascent Chukar Cherries proudly offered nature's sweetest treat: the dried cherry.
Today, we offer the same no sugar added dried cherries, made without the use of oil or preservatives. We specialize in drying the Pacific Northwest's finest Bing, Rainier, and tart cherries. I invite you to give them a try!
