The flavor of these last-to-harvest cherries may be out-of-this-world, but these delicious cherries aren’t grown too far away from Mollie Stone’s. Available now, “moon cherries” come from Stemilt Growers in Wenatchee, WA. They are grown at fourth generation cherry grower Kyle Mathison’s Amigos Orchards, which is located 3,000 to 3,500 feet above sea level – literally a half mile closer to the moon.
Keep reading to learn more about these sweet Moon Cherries!
Kyle lives and breathes cherries, and has always dreamt of providing people with fresh cherries for as long as possible. In the cherry world, any orchard planted above 1,800 feet is considered high elevation. Having already surpassed this height, Kyle began planting cherries at even higher elevations back in 2002 in order to stretch the availability window of Stemilt cherries.
Today, Amigos has evolved into a truly premier growing locale for cherries for two distinct reasons. First, its high-elevation location means it is later to bloom and therefore not as susceptible to frost. Second, during the summer growing season, the daytime temperatures are warm at Amigos, but not as hot as other places would be thanks to the altitude. It also cools down at night on Amigos which helps trees re-energize for the day that follows. This temperature swing is important for building sugars in the fruit and helps deliver consistently large, sweet and firm cherries.
Beyond the ideal locale, Kyle grows the best varieties at Amigos. He adoringly calls Sweetheart, Skeena and Staccato cherries his “three loves” based on their consistent quality and dessert flavors.
Get a final taste of fresh Stemilt cherries at Mollie Stone’s now with Kyle’s Half-Mile-Closer-to-the-Moon Cherries. You will love them!
