Tag Archives: Harvest

2026 Harvest, Call, Yellow Bay Area

2026, Our Twentieth Harvest is On!

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A Serene Respite and A Beautiful Place to Pick Cherries is Here. The timing for this Harvest is Perfect. Text 406-871-5499. Open 8am – 1pm. Everyday.

We are humble growers who love what we do. We constantly try to provide the best possible setting and fruit for our dear customers.

What more can we say? During this morning, July 22, 2026; I snapped photos. This is a box being picked by a customer. The cherries are beautiful this year.

If you would like to visit, text 406-871-5499.

Perhaps You May Notice: Our Trees are Pruned Differently.

Our trees are trimmed and pruned in more of a European Style. They drape more and move. As the fruit gets heavy with growth and ripeness, the branches bend low and lovely. They move gently in the afternoon breeze. No lollipop shaped trees in this orchard. We want our trees to be able to be real trees and not in a severe agriculturally stiff method. We care about heights for our customers. Ladders are not necessary. Each tree is carefully studied and pruned for its best life with health.

Here, find a few thoughts, that explain what we do for excellent fruits and vegetables:

Do You ever Think about the Soil?

The first thing we did for this orchard: adding compost. Five semi – truck loads were delivered to our orchard. Each tree now sits in a bed of healthy, beautiful soil. Nutrients are kelp, meals from the sea. It is alive with microbes and nutrients. We are forever checking and improving our luscious soil. The trees thrive and soil moisture is easy to maintain. We feel this is one of the reasons our fruits are special. Healthy growing always begins with healthy

Dan checks soil, added historic lake bed compost.

Water Quality is Important!

Our irrigation water comes from the top of the mountain near the mountainous, National Forest. This is above our Orchard. There, we have micro, high tech, screens that filter the water. We water test this water often and it is pure and delicious. We feel this is absolutely important for our trees. Fruits and Vegetables thrive with great and ample water.

The Montana State Agriculture Produce Handling Rules, ask for water testing. We have passed the instructions courses and follow all recommended practices for healthy and clean produce. We are proud to know our fruit is clean and well grown for enjoying.

Summary: Our Clean Montana Air, Clean Water and Composted Soil give us High Quality.

And then, there is beauty, planning, and effort!

The Beauty is one of our Favorite Results

2025 Harvest Season, Building, Cherries, Flathead Lake, Montana, Fruit, Fruit Growers, Orchard, Random Fun, U Pick

June, 2025 In Getmans’ Orchard – News!

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Bigfork, Mt. Call Farmer Dan For Appointment around July 15. 406-871-5499.

We are excited, the weather is fabulous as of June 19. Here is a poem for your inspiration. Read the poem, it will lift your anticipation towards a fine summer.

Knee – Deep in June,

James Whitcomb Riley

Tell you what I like the best --
'Long about knee-deep in June,
'Bout the time strawberries melts
On the vine, -- some afternoon
Like to jes' git out and rest,
And not work at nothin' else!

Orchard's where I'd ruther be --
Needn't fence it in fer me! --
Jes' the whole sky overhead,
And the whole airth underneath --
Sort o' so's a man kin breathe
Like he ort, and kind o' has
Elbow-room to keerlessly
Sprawl out len'thways on the grass
Where the shadders thick and soft
As the kivvers on the bed
Mother fixes in the loft
Allus, when they's company!
...
March ain't never nothin' new! --
April's altogether too
Brash fer me! and May -- I jes'
'Bominate its promises, --
Little hints o' sunshine and
Green around the timber-land --
A few blossoms, and a few
Chip-birds, and a sprout er two, --
Drap asleep, and it turns in
Fore daylight and snows ag'in! --
But when June comes - Clear my th'oat
With wild honey! -- Rench my hair
In the dew! And hold my coat!
Whoop out loud! And th'ow my hat! --
June wants me, and I'm to spare!
Spread them shadders anywhere,
I'll get down and waller there,
And obleeged to you at that!

The Crops

The Cherries are in June Drop and on their way to Straw. We are watering like mad and mowing. Dan has been clearing pathways and tending the grass that keeps the cherry trees moist.

Peaches, Pears, Plums, Grapes, Apples all look good. Each crop has particular needs. We are fertilizing with all kinds of compost, kelp, and other specific nutrients. We will know our approximate Harvest Date around, “middle of July”.

Our Water

In April we upgraded our good well. Our pressure tanks were twenty years old. They fizzled. The genius family, Zavala’s, excavated a deep area near our well in the South part of our property.

The greatest well man, Fletcher helped us pull out the old pipe and pump. We installed a glorious and new stainless steel pump. We dug out a massive amount of soil to make an underground area for a fancy and new concrete fault. It acts like an old pump house, but it is now all underground. It was a fascinating experience and exercise. Much of the new installation was accomplished in pouring rain.

We are satisfied because we know our great water is the basis for every success that we have.

Grinding the Branches After Pruning

Around The Orchard

These 2025 Spring photos are a glimpse at the preparations here for maintaining a great season for everyone. Dan has taken these photos. He is passionate about his video and photography. The Rock photo is a Dan project: grape terraces. Dan has been designing and building various orchards for great people who want to add orchards in our Northwest Montana Valley.

2023 Season, Apples, Plums, Pears, Fruit, Fruit Growers, Orchard, Random Fun, To Order, U Pick

The Pickin’ is Easy, Autumn 2023

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Our apples, plums, and pears are ready. The 2023 weather has given us a beautiful and long growing season. We will be open for apple picking during the next few weeks.

Call Farmer Dan if you would like to visit the orchard. 406-871-5499.

Our branches are bending low, heavy with many different varieties of apples. The apples are delicious, crisp, and good for eating or baking. Guaranteed, our historical Macs make the best pies and deserts.

Our best applesauce making technique: Use a roasting pan. 1. Wash apples, peel apples, then chunk them into pieces. Simply, use a knife to cut the apple pieces into a roasting pan and toss the seeds and core into the compost. Any chunk is the right size! 2. Add a little sweetener and cinnamon, if you like. 3. Add a small amount of water, a few tablespoons. (enough to kick off a bit of moisture and steam. 4. Roast in the oven until the apples are tender, we like a few browned, savory tips.

There you have it, the most delicious applesauce without watching the pot or fighting hot spots and burning pot bottoms. To preserve: We jar the applesauce, add a lid, and put into the boiling water canner for ten minutes.

To make things really easy, we sterilize clean jars from the dishwasher in the oven, Place the jars on a cookie sheet and bake the empty jars for ten minutes in 350 degree oven. Boil the lids. You will have great applesauce throughout the year until next season. Homemade is far better than any purchased jar.

Sheryl Getman

2022 season, Cherries, Flathead Lake, Montana, Garden, U Pick

2022 SEASON BEGINS SOON

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Our cherry season will begin AUGUST 1, 2022. Our cherry season will last through AUGUST 15. The past, late, spring has brought us a beautiful crop. Farmer Dan has pruned each tree for beauty and easy picking. The ORCHARD has been tended, watered, and nourished like a garden.

Enjoy our serene, clean orchard. An exquisite time to relish the outdoors and clean air. We are a family owned orchard.

CALL 406-871-5499 for an appointment.

We cannot ship cherries during 2022.

2017 Crop Harvest News, Orchard

2017 Harvest Season

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A view of the Cherry trees to the south.

Cherries the week of June 24.

Cherry trees in our Eastern zone on this orchard.

Cherry harvest will be when the cherries are ready.  Our best guess is around July 20, 2017.  We will announce our harvest date for each crop here.  Raspberries are growing nicely and will be ready at about the same date.

Facts for our Cherry customers:  Call 406-871-5499 to arrange for an orchard visit for cherries.  These times are usually after 4 pm, when the fruit begins to cool down from the warm day.  On weekends, we offer early hours.  We try to work with everyone.

Cherries should be rinsed in cool water and placed in the refrigerator after you get them home.

Many people freeze cherries.  They can be great as snacks and frozen with pits spread on a cookie sheet and then bagged.  It can be great to have pitted, frozen cherries.  They are very popular for smoothies, sauces, salads, and in many recipes.

If you are making a mail order from us:  We will ship on our harvest day.  We use two day mail.  Alert for mail carrier when you know our ship date or before.  It helps to have a caring and supportive mail person who will not leave the box for the next day but will make a bit of an effort to get them to you.

For directions on how to order cherries, see our Order page on this website.