In the fruit orchard

Credit: Carolyn Herriot

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Every year it’s a battle to get the cherries picked before the birds eat them. Last year we struggled to cover the ‘Sweet Stella’ cherry tree with a huge fishing net, only to discover that we had trapped a bird inside that had devoured all the cherries!

This year we tried something different – scare tactics. We hung wind chimes, tin foil plates and Jar Jar Binks in the tree, and guess what? It worked!

Here’s a recipe for sour cherry pie filling, which also tastes sublime with vanilla ice cream if you do not have time to bake the pie.
Sour Cherry Pie Filling
(For one 10” deep dish pie)
2 ½ lbs (1.2 kg) sour cherries, pitted
¾ cup (180 mL) granulated sugar
¼ cup (60 mL) cornstarch
1 Tbsp. (15 mL) Triple Sec
1 tsp. (5 mL) almond extract

Slowly bring to a boil, stirring all the time to prevent sticking and burning, just until mixture has thickened.

Fruit thinning
Early July is the time to thin the fruit of apple and pear trees, which drop fruit automatically, but often not enough to insure there is enough energy for the development of good-sized fruit. Pull off any small apples or pears growing in bunches of two, three and four, leaving only one (sometimes two) apples growing every six inches on the branches.

Back to the Victory Garden.