WENATCHEE, WA - Stemilt Growers is excited to report that in the case of fourth generation cherry grower Kyle Mathison and his high-altitude “Moon cherries,” the season is is going just as he would prefer, right down to tomorrow’s full moon.
“There’s no better time to harvest cherries than around a full moon,” Mathison said, according to a press release.
The gravitational pull from the full moon, the company said, is Mathison’s preferred time to harvest cherries because he feels it boosts his cherry tree’s ability to deliver energy to the growing fruits in the form of carbohydrates.
“A full moon brings energy with it, and that energy pulls nutrients from the roots of cherry trees right into the fruit. The result is large and firm cherries that are truly world famous. Each cherry explodes with flavor when you bite into it,” Matheson said.
The result is jumbo-sized cherries with higher sugars, acids, and aromatics to deliver a dessert-eating experience.
At 2,640 feet, or a half mile, above sea level and higher, Matheson also just began harvesting his unique Amigos Orchards’ cherries in Wenatchee, WA, which also kick off Stemilt’s A Half Mile Closer to the Moon™ cherry program. Coming off the tree earlier than a typical season, Stemilt’s cherry harvest is now expected to go into early August as opposed to the typical season of June to August.
The A Half Mile Closer to the Moon™ cherry program offers high-altitude, premium cherries that are packed into specially-marked pouch bags to give retailers a unique story to share with consumers.
“They are going to wow consumers," Stemilt’s Marketing Director Roger Pepperl. “Sweetheart, Skeena, and Staccato® are the varieties grown by Kyle at Amigos, and all three have benefitted from near perfect growing conditions this year. Warm-but-not-hot days followed by cool nights, and the added benefit of being fueled by Kyle’s prescription natural fertilizer made at his nearby compost farm, result in fantastic cherries. We’re excited to deliver consumers with this final and memorable taste of Stemilt cherries through our branded A Half Mile Closer to the Moon program. It’s an exciting way to finish off another great cherry season.”
This is Stemilt’s fifth year packing “Moon cherries,” but new this year is a video to help retailers tell the farm-to-fork story of the cherries with their shoppers on social and digital channels, which can be seen below.
Featuring both Kyle and West Mathison, the video covers the unique geography, farming practices, and Kyle’s passion for growing Moon cherries.
Stemilt noted that, in the cherry world, any orchard planted above 1,800 feet is considered high-elevation, which Kyle Mathison surpassed and looked to stretch in availability in Stemilt cherries when he began planting at even higher elevation in 2002.
Growing conditions for Amigos have been ideal all summer long, with this 2016 lunar cycle making for a good cherry on top of Kyle Mathison’s desired harvest.
