It’s Cherry-Pickin’ Time

Photo by Alex Witek.

If you look up Door County – well, anywhere – you’ll probably see a photo of a cherry next to the name because the county and the fruit have been synonymous since the first trees were planted in 1896. 

Well, our little, red friends have been ripening during the past few weeks, and now it’s time to fill a bucket with more cherries than you can eat pretty much anywhere in Door County. Here are a few spots to check out for your annual cherry fix.

• Cherry Lane Orchards

7525 Cherry Lane, Sturgeon Bay

• Choice Orchards

4594 Cty HH, Sturgeon Bay

• Kielar Akers Orchard

S648 Hwy 42, Sturgeon Bay

• Robertson Orchards

2575 S. Shiloh Road, Sturgeon Bay

• Door County Fruit Connection

5807 Hwy 42, Carlsville

• Schartner’s Farm Market

6476 Hwy 42, Egg Harbor

• Hyline Orchard

8240 Hwy 42, Fish Creek

• Lautenbach’s Orchard Country

9197 Hwy 42, Fish Creek

Thank Goodness for Dynamite

Horseshoe Bay Farm’s first long-term farm manager was Al Erikson, who earned that position after successfully meeting the challenge proffered by owner Frank Murphy to plant 100 acres of cherry trees on the bluff in two years. 

Erikson set to work plotting out each row of trees, and after carving out a small hole for each tree with a pickax, a friend would “plant” a one-inch stick of dynamite inside. The resulting blast would create a two-foot-wide area that was filled with topsoil and a one-foot-tall cherry sprig. 

Erikson acquired the title of farm manager by delivering those 100 planted acres with a little help from a friend and a lot of small explosives.