Smiths Fruit

07/10/2026

🍒☀️ THE SOLAR FARM IS SWITCHED ON

We’re into stone hardening now — and while the cherries might look like they’ve taken their foot off the accelerator, don’t be fooled.

There’s plenty going on. 👀🍒

The canopy is up and working. 🌿

Every one of those big green leaves is effectively a solar panel ☀️ — catching sunlight, photosynthesising and turning that sunlight into the sugars and carbohydrates that power the tree.

And that’s the important bit.

⚡ The tree is now generating its own energy.

That energy has jobs to do — developing the stone and seed, maintaining the canopy, supporting the roots and getting everything ready for the next big demand:

🍒📈 CELL EXPANSION & FRUIT FILL.

So stone hardening isn’t a period where nothing is happening.

It’s the loading-the-springs phase.

Build the canopy. 🌿
Keep it healthy. 💪
Keep water and nutrition available. 💧
Keep those solar panels working. ☀️

Because when the fruit switches into rapid expansion, that energy has somewhere very important to go. 🍒🚀

☀️ Sunlight → 🌿 Leaf → ⚡ Energy → 🍒 Fruit.

Simple system. Big job.

05/10/2026

28/09/2026

🍒 Weekly Orchard Update | From Cell Division to Cell Expansion 🌱

We’re reaching another important stage in the cherry season — the transition from cell division into cell expansion. 🍒📈

This is a great opportunity to take a snapshot of what’s happening nutritionally inside the tree through differential sap analysis. 🧪🌿

By sampling both young and older leaves, we can compare nutrient levels and, importantly, the ratios and movement of nutrients between different parts of the tree. Some nutrients are highly mobile, while others tend to remain where they are deposited — which is why looking at both leaf ages gives us a much clearer picture than a single sample.

As the tree moves from building cell numbers to expanding those cells and filling fruit, understanding its nutritional status helps us fine-tune the program for the next phase. 🎯🍒

Measure. Understand. Adjust. Grow. 🌱🔬

23/09/2026

🍒 Weekly Orchard Update | The solar farm is switching on! ☀️🌱

Things are really moving in the orchard this week. Our trees are transitioning from relying on their stored energy reserves to getting those big, flat leaf blades working like little solar panels. ☀️🍃

As the canopy develops, photosynthesis ramps up and the tree starts producing sugars and carbohydrates to power new growth, fruit development and the roots.

Below ground is just as important. 🌱 Some of those sugars head back down through the roots, helping feed the soil microbiome and supporting nutrient cycling around the rhizosphere — helping make nutrients available for the tree to keep working.

🍒 Right now, we’re also in the critical cell division phase. From around full bloom, we have roughly 25–30 days where we want to maximise the number of cells being created in each cherry.

Then we transition into cell expansion and fruit fill — expanding those cells and building bigger, plumper cherries with great firmness, quality and shelf life.

💡 Little fun fact: A lot of the potential for the cherry you eventually eat is actually being built right now, just weeks after flowering.

Another important week in the orchard as the whole system — leaves, fruit, roots and soil biology — starts firing up. ☀️🍃🌱🍒

19/09/2026

Spring is certainly in the air! 🌸🍒

The bees are buzzing 🐝, the orchard is coming alive, and every day brings another little change.

Such a beautiful time of year — blossom, new growth and the promise of another cherry season ahead.

🍒

15/09/2026

🌱🍒 And they’re starting to move!

Our young cherry trees, planted during the winter of 2026, are now heading into spring and starting to shoot and grow. 🌿☀️

A lot of hard work from the team has gone into getting them to this point — trees planted, irrigation up and running, tree guards in place, cover crop established and nice clean, weed-free rows. 💪🚜

Now it’s about getting the nutrition right, keeping the competition away and giving these young trees every opportunity to grow and establish strongly.

🌳🍒 Watch this space as we follow their progress through their first growing season!

15/09/2026

🍒 Well, here we are again — another week on in the orchard!

As you can see, these early varieties are really starting to move now. Season 2026 has certainly come out of the gates with a bang! 💥🍒

We’ve got plenty of fresh leaf pushing through, the trees are looking great, and most importantly, we’ve got fruit on the way. 🍃🍒

Things are changing pretty quickly out here now — you can almost see a difference from one day to the next.

Still plenty of work ahead of us and a long way to go before harvest, but it’s great to see another cherry season starting to take shape.

Anyway, we’ll keep you posted as we go and take you along for the ride through Season 2026. 🍒☀️

08/09/2026

🍒🌸 Another week on in the orchard… 🌸🍒

Things are really starting to move now!

Our early varieties are heading into petal fall, we’re starting to see those first little signs of fruit set, and there’s plenty of fresh new leaf coming through. 🌱🍒

It’s great to stand back and watch Mother Nature do her thing. And our little buzzy friends have certainly been busy! 🐝🐝 They’ve been working hard through flowering, helping pollinate what we hope will be another great crop of cherries. 🌸➡️🍒

Plenty happening, plenty more to come — and every week the orchard looks a little different.

Just another beautiful day to be out amongst the cherry trees. ☀️🌳🍒

Bring on Season 2026! 🙌🍒

👀 Who’s following along with us this season? Drop a 🍒 in the comments if you’re looking forward to fresh cherry season — and follow along as we take you from flower to fruit and all the way through to harvest! 🐝🌸🍒

🍒🐝🌸

31/08/2026

🍒🌞 CHERRY SEASON 2026 — COME JOIN THE SMITHS FRUIT TEAM! 🌞🍒

Spring is here, the orchards are coming to life, and we’re getting ready for another big cherry season at Smiths Fruit! 🚜🌳🍒

We’re now looking for great people to join our team for the 2026 cherry harvest, starting in early November and running through to late December.

🍒 ORCHARD ROLES
Love being outdoors? Come and work amongst the cherry trees in beautiful Northeast Victoria. Fresh air, sunshine and plenty of cherries!

📦 PACKHOUSE ROLES
Prefer working indoors? Join our packhouse team, helping us sort, pack and prepare our cherries ready for customers across Australia and beyond.

🙌 WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR
A great attitude, reliability and people who are ready to get stuck in and be part of a busy, friendly team.

Whether you’re returning for another season or joining us for the first time, we’d love to hear from you.

📅 Season: Early November – Late December 2026
📍 Smiths Fruit | Wangaratta, Northeast Victoria

📧 Interested? Apply now:
[email protected]

🍒 Great cherries. Great people. One big season. 🍒

🍒🇦🇺

31/08/2026

🌸🍒 WELCOME TO SEASON 2026! 🍒🌸

Spring is officially underway! ☀️🌱🌸

What a beautiful day in the orchard, checking out one of our early blocks of Royal Tioga 🍒🌳

Have a look at these beauties! 👀🌸 Everything is looking nice and tidy and ready to go for another exciting cherry season. 🙌🍒

Bring on Season 2026! 🚜☀️🍒🌿

🍒🇦🇺