Tasman cherry harvest begins

This week heralds in the start of the cherry harvest in Tasman.

Ruby Bay Cherries is one of just a handful of cherry orchards in operation across New Zealand and for the next three weeks, they will be busy picking while the stone fruit is at its best.

Cherries will be carefully sorted, washed, graded, packed, and stacked, ready for pick-up direct from their roadside store or for delivery to online and wholesale buyers across the country.

That’s all assuming this year’s cherry season reaches its full potential, say owners Neil and Wanessa Hoggarth, who produce hundreds of thousands of cherries each season at their Aporo Road orchard.

The cherry-growing business is notoriously risky with an extremely narrow sales window and sensitivity to inclement weather. Too much rain and the cherries will split. A freak half-hour hailstorm - as occurred last season - and the yield will be cut short.

For the Hoggarth family, cherries for Christmas are a household tradition, given the location of the orchard adjacent to the family home, purchased in 2014.

“Cherry season at our house is quite an experience,” says Neil.

“It’s all hands on deck in the orchard during the day, rewarded by all hands in the cherry bowl at dinner time.”

As active members in the community, this year the couple have initiated a fundraising scheme that offers five dollars to primary schools for every 2kg box of cherries sold using an associated school discount code.

With schools spanning from Nelson through to Takaka, they also hope to extend the scheme to secondary schools next year and potentially beyond the region.

With more than enough cherries to go around, the goal for Ruby Bay Cherries is to avoid waste before the short season is up, and to ensure locals get first dibs too.

While many orchards focus on exporting, the focus for Ruby Bay Cherries is squarely on New Zealanders.

“So much of our country’s best product goes overseas. I’m a firm believer that Kiwis shouldn’t have to compromise,” says Neil.