Third generation orchardist, Neil Farnsworth, is keeping 100 year old stories alive, of his family as one of the founding families of Red Hill in the 20’s, passing on to his children what growing up in Red Hill was like alongside his immense knowledge in orchard keeping and management.
The Farnsworth family moved to Paringa rd in the 20’s, into a 40 acre parcel of land. After clearing the land, they planted an apple & cherry orchard that has been providing the livelihood of their children and grandchildren for the past century. During picking season the men would pick, the ladies would pack and then off to the wholesale markets to sell their fruit. A family operation where each person had a job.
Nowadays the orchard is divided between Neil and his uncle, where Neil still manages both orchards but it is Neil’s orchard only that provides fruit for sale.
The start of summer is always marked with great anticipation to taste the first variety of Farnsworth cherries for the season. Farnsworth cherry orchards boasts about 20 different varieties and hybrids which in time, the information on the varieties was lost, only thing left to do is enjoy them.
The first two weeks of the season is now picked by fourth generation orchardists, Neil’s youngsters, where they learn orchard keeping, alongside the many life skills that come with leaving on a family cherry farm.
The different varieties of Cherries ripen at different rates, so every two weeks we get different variety of cherries, from early season variety such as Merchant and Burlat picking around christmas with Lapins cherries.
