Cherries are the star attraction at the moment. Whether British, European, North America or Canadian all are prominent!
Strawberries are, bigger, juicier and sweeter than previous years following a cool spring and recent warm weather.
Raspberries larger, plumper and and extra tasty, and benefitting from a plethora of new varieties.
But at this moment in time, it's all about the start of the British Cherry season!!
British cherries are celebrated for their exceptional quality, with a growing season from mid-June to August, offering a variety of sweet and juicy options.
Growing Season and Availability
British cherries are typically in season from mid-June to August, depending on weather conditions. The warm spring weather has contributed to a larger and sweeter crop this year, with British growers expecting a yield of around 8,000 tonnes, significantly higher than in previous years.
This season is expected to last about 10 weeks, double the length of the season five years ago.
Tesco Press Release - Great UK cherry crop on the way after perfect Spring growing conditions
British cherries will be the next crop to benefit from the warmest UK Spring on record when the fruit starts going on sale across the UK from this week.
The great news for shoppers is that the extra sunshine and hours of daylight over the last few months means the fruit is not only bigger than in recent years but also sweeter and juicier.
It's also resulted in the largest predicted yield for three years with Tesco reporting that it will be able to completely rely on UK grown cherries from early July.
Tesco cherry buyer Olivia Amey said: "The extra sunshine and daylight hours have played a major part in the quality of the fruit we've been sampling from around the country over the last few weeks and we know customers are going to be impressed.
"And it's also meant that overall volume is up early in the season meaning that we won't have to rely on supplementing the British crop with foreign imports in order to meet the usual summer demand at this time.
"We're also working with UK growers to extend the season by looking at new varieties of both early and late ripening cherries that can deliver a classic British-grown taste - fleshy, firm, plump and fit to burst with a great juicy surge of sweetness."
One of those growers is AC Hulme, based near Canterbury, in Kent, which says that the company is very optimistic about this year's UK cherry season which now lasts 10 weeks, almost double to what it was just five years ago.
And it's a far cry from 20 years ago when the UK cherry industry was on its last legs due to the increasing availability of cheaper imports and far higher production costs which all but decimated the centuries old British trade.
But now more and more British growers are now seeing better yields by using dwarf root stock, grafted onto new tree varieties.
These produce much smaller trees which can be grown in plastic tunnels, creating a micro climate with temperatures similar to the Mediterranean and protecting the fruit from any inclement British weather.
And these new smaller cherry trees can now be picked by workers on foot rather than ladders, enabling British cherries to remain competitively priced against foreign rivals.
It's meant that UK cherry production is once again thriving and is now so strong that British growers are this year set to produce an estimated 8000 tonnes of cherries - around four times the harvest in 2018.
And compared to the paltry 559 tonnes that were picked in the year 2005, it shows just how far the revival has come in such a short space of time.
AC Hulme Managing Director, Tom Hulme said: "The British cherry industry is moving at pace again now and new varieties are being brought in that are not only better suited to the British climate to improve quality and taste but also to help us extend the growing season.
Below: Tom Hulme
"Over the last few years we have brought in some exciting early season varieties such as Sweet Aryana and Grace Star as well as exploring later season cherries such as Kir Rosso which will extend the current season by an extra 10 days.
"But there are several other innovations being used to extend the UK season such as controlling air conditions in storing rooms post-harvest to improve shelf life and also using different types of poly tunnels to accelerate and delay ripening cherries through limiting sunlight.
"Cherries are very susceptible to the weather and if it is too rainy or too humid the fruit suffers but the good news is that this year we have had pretty decent growing conditions and we are looking forward to a nice long season with the best quality fruit for several years."
ENDS
Below: left. Sweet Aryana (an early variety) and right. Kir Rosso (a late variety)
The English Apple Man Comments
We (GB consumers) are blessed with the availability of so much high quality 'summer fruits' - Strawberries this year are extra special, Raspberries with superb size and flavour and of course Cherries. The superb quality is enhanced by the sunny weather, but behind the increasing standard of Strawberries, Raspberries and Cherries (and Blueberries) the most telling factor is the widespread breeding programmes (here and overseas) which is the driving force behind the advancement in fruit quality.
Below: An example of extra special AVA Monet Raspberries
To conclude this week's Journal, a "look back in time" a video demonstrating the advancement of UK Cherry production
Click on: The English Cherry - A Story of Farming Revival
That is all for this week
Take care
The English Apple Man