What is a certified organic cherry?
A certified organic cherry has been grown using environmentally sound practices for a minimum of three years.

Organic requirements include:

Only natural forms of weed control such as cover crops, mulching, or mechanical form of weed control.

Only natural fertilizers such as manure, compost, bone meal and rock minerals.

Using pheromones to control non-beneficial insects from inhabiting the orchard.

Using beneficial insects to control pests.

An organic orchard is required to be free from synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for at least three years before obtaining certification.

Why do organic cherries cost more?
An organic cherry costs more because of the extra costs associated with farming organic crops. These extra costs include:

Hand tying the pheromone packages used for pest control to the branches of every tree in the orchard.

Increased fees associated with organic certification

Storage and use guidelines

Refrigerate, loosely covered, for up to three days. To keep them longer, pit, stem, bag and freeze the cherries. They can be kept frozen for several months.

Rinse cherries to eat fresh.

Use in pies, preserves and as a topping for ice cream, waffles and pancakes.

To pit cherries for use in recipes, use a cherry pitter, available at kitchen shops.