Traverse City Record-Eagle

2011 Cherry Festival

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  • A tractor pulls a wagon full of visitors through an orchard at the Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Station, operated by Michigan State University, during Friday's Cherry Connection: Bringing Together Festival, Farm and Fruit. Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump

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  • Elliana Burns, 9, of Reed City samples some of the cherry-themed foods with her mother Polly Burns, left, and father Paul Burns, right, during Friday's Cherry Connection: Bringing Together Festival, Farm and Fruit Friday at the Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Station operated by Michigan State University. Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump

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July 9, 2011

Farm shows cherry growing methods

Tours help people understand how fruit is produced

By Lisa Perkins lperkins@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — Sisters Donna Frye and Nina Sebastian were raised on a farm near Lansing, so they were eager to see how northwest Michigan cherries are grown.

"This is the first time we have been to the cherry festival, the first time to Traverse City and we had no idea how many cherries are grown here," said Sebastian, of Asheville, N.C., who spends a few weeks each summer traveling with her sister from downstate.

The sisters learned how northern Michigan's climate helps produce abundant orchard crops and the wide variety of fruits for which the area has become known when they toured the Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Station on Friday.

The 100-acre research farm, located 10 miles north of Traverse City on Center Highway in Leelanau County, is operated by the Michigan State University Extension.

"The highest points with the best views are the best place for growing fruit trees, the tops of hills are warmer," said Erin Lizotte, an integrated pest management educator at the research station. She conducted a guided tour of the orchard during the National Cherry Festival's Cherry Connection.

The research farm grows traditional and experimental varieties, including grapes, apricots, pears, apples, saskatoon berries and hops, but the focus was on cherries during the event that brought together festival, farm and fruit.

"Sweet cherries are grown on trees with a more upright growth pattern and larger leaves, while the tart cherries are on trees with a rounded growth pattern and smaller leaves, somewhat like a topiary," said Lizotte, noting that each tree can produce an average of 120 pounds of fruit.

Cherries also took center stage inside the research station, where visitors were treated to samples of cherry bread pudding, cherry sausages, cherry barbecue sauce, cherry smoothies, dried cherries and ice cream loaded with cherries and chocolate chunks, all provided by local businesses.

"Everything was so delicious, this was definitely worth the trip," Frye said.

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Special to the Record-Eagle/Susan Melton
A National Cherry Festival goer hits new heights at the Open Space.

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