KENTON VALLEY CHERRIES

The season starts in mid September with a beautiful display of white blossom, which when pollinated by bees, becomes the beginning of the cherry crop... Harvest usually begins in mid November and continues into mid January with over 10 varieties being grown which include Merchant, Santina, Stella, Lapins and Sweet Georgia... After the cherries are picked they are brought into the packing shed and immediately chilled with cold water (hydro-cooled) to remove field heat which increases shelf life. Then the cherries are placed into a coolroom before grading. The grading process involves first removing any leaves, twigs or foreign matter from the cherries, then the cherries pass through a cluster cutter. This is done so the individual cherries can pass through under the cherry sorters cameras, 30 pictures are taken of each individual cherry as they roll under the cameras. The computer analyses the cherry for size and defects before allocating it a grading lane. The cherry is then..

Primary location: Gumeracha Australia