Henny Penny Farmette

Cherries are perfectly suited for growing well in our northern California climate. About ten years ago, we planted several sweet cherry trees–Bing, Stella, and Black Tartarian. They’ve proven to be easy trees to grow and reward us with bountiful crops of sweet, ripe cherries around Memorial Day each year.

Before leafing out, swollen red buds open to a pale pink color

If you want to grow some sweet cherries, you’ll need to space for a tree or two. Sour cherries will self pollinate but sweet cherries need a pollinator and that means you’ll need to plant two trees 30 to 40 feet apart unless you are growing a dwarf variety. Dwarf trees should be spaced 5 to 10 feet apart. The trees need sun, good air circulation, and well-drained fertile soil. Drainage is important because cherry trees are susceptible to root rot.

Once the trees are established, prune in early spring to remove large limbs or those that are broken, damaged, or too weak to produce fruit. In late summer, a second pruning can be done (this one less aggressive) to open up the canopy and improve air circulation.

Bing cherries are ripe and ready for picking

A newly planted cherry tree can take three to five years to produce fruit. But you’ll be rewarded when your full-size tree produces 40 to 50 quarts of ripe fruit. In Northern California, cherries ripen from early June to late July.

A potful of cherries appearing golden because of the sunlight

You’ll be sharing your ripe cherries with the birds unless you use netting over your tree. A bird will peck a single hole in a perfect cherry and then move on, leaving the damaged cherry to rot on the tree. Local wildlife such as opossums and raccoons also enjoy feasting on cherries, climbing the trees to reach the fruit.

Cherries must be picked at the peak of perfection for if they are picked too soon, the fruit will not slowly ripen in your kitchen. Cherries are more perishable than blueberries, so wash and eat them soon after picking. A pit remover makes it easy to remove the stone from the center of the fruit.

Some people prefer sour cherries for making pies and jam and sweet cherries for eating fresh. Preserve cherries after removing the pits by canning in a hot water canner, drying them using a dehydrator, or freezing them.

Ripe cherries are a lovely treat enjoyed from Memorial day through the Fourth of July

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If you enjoy reading about our adventures in country living, check out my Henny Penny Farmette series of cozy mysteries. They’re chocked full of delicious recipes, gardening tips, and insights into keeping chickens and honeybees. Or, learn about how to take better care of yourself with my health, wellness, and spirituality books. All are available online and wherever books are sold.

Get the three-book series of cozy mysteries with elements based on the real Henny Penny Farmette

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Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start to summer, which means time to grab a little reading pleasure and sample some locally grown produce to go with whatever you’re putting on the grill. And don’t forget dessert.  My mind is already spinning with ideas.

Hanging out in the hammock calls for a book, so if you haven’t already snagged a copy of A BEELINE TO MURDER, get your e-book today through May 30 for a great price from KOBO Books. Here’s the link: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/a-beeline-to-murder.

The first book in the Henny Penny Farmette series, Kensington Books 2015

For your grilling pleasure, choose some sweet corn to grill to go with the barbecue ribs or chicken. Here on the Henny Penny Farmette, our corn won’t be ready until July, so we’re going to pick some up locally grown corn at the farmers’ market in downtown Concord.

This corn has just started growing

We’ve got more than a dozen heirloom tomato plants with fruit on them. Vine-ripened heirloom tomatoes for a cool Caprese salad are also available from the farmers’ market. And as I consider salads for our weekend meals, a red-skin potato with pesto and shredded basil leaves sounds almost as good as a conventional country style potato salad. But then again, I’d love a fresh broccoli-carrot salad with an Asian sesame-seed dressing or a simple cold slaw.

We’ve got plenty of zucchini and sweet snap peas in my garden that are ready to eat. These taste divine tossed into a garlic and butter shrimp pasta with a little shaved Parmesan cheese. Add a nice chardonnay or a traditional Cuban lime mojito along with some fresh baked bread and you’re ready to head for the table in the orchard.

Sunflower-design bundt pan makes this cake pretty enough to eat without the the caramelized pecan frosting.

Desserts are on my mind too–a simple cake or a plate of berries or watermelon rings my chime. But then again, with company, I could bake some linzer torte cookies with home-canned apricot jam. Or make a rhubarb-strawberry pie. The rhubarb stalks are cherry red and ready to cut.

These are some of my ideas of simple pleasures for Memorial Day to get you thinking about yours. Wishing you a peaceful, blessed Memorial Day weekend.

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If you enjoy reading about keeping bees and chickens, raising heirloom vegetables and fruits, and other aspects of modern farmette life, check out my series of cozy mysteries from Kensington Publishing (New York).

A BEELINE TO MURDER, available in hardcover, will be released in paperback format in October.  THE MURDER OF A QUEEN BEE will be released October 1, 2016. Find these titles on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Walmart.com and other online bookstores and retailers as well as in traditional bookstores everywhere.

First book in Meera Lester’s Henny Penny Farmette series of cozy mysteries

Novel #2 in the Henny Penny Farmette series, available Oct. 1, 2016