Do you remember last year when we talked about Cherry tree rental ? Well Amanda and her sister rented a tree this year, for £40 between us and above is a picture of some of the 20 kilo plus haul we got from our tree this weekend.
I say we, but since I am in Italy sunning myself by a pool, it was my sister and her family who went down to the cherry farm and picked our crop. It turned out to be very bad timing on my behalf, as they had a fantastic day, with lunch at the pub and sunny weather. The cherries, said my sis, were like sweets hanging on twigs, fat with juice and very tasty, which is just as well as she picked mountains of them from our tree.
My sis is putting my part of the crop in the freezer for when I get home, and as payment for missing the picking weekend I have agreed to turn some of her portion into jam (with my new jam making machine from Lakeland). But while here at the poolside, I am reading Jamie's food mag (issue 11) ad notice he has mentioned the tree rental too, and has a few recipes for cherries on his website
All through the year we have had 'cherry tree news' emails from Michael, who runs the rental side of the cherry farm, which have told us how the tree is (they hold a lovely Blossom Weekend in May, where you can visit your tree, eat a hog roast and buy local produce such as honey, jam and asparagus). He also predicted accurately when the tree would be in fruit so you can plan your harvest visit. Unless you've been a plonker and already booked to go to Italy of course.
We are so thrilled with our haul we're definitely going to do it again next year. Anyone wanting to do the same should contact Michael through www.rentacherrytree.co.uk . If you live close to the farm in Kent, the cherries are also being sold from the farm shop ( which is a trailer attached to a tractor).
