EFFORT, Pa. — The trees at Heckman Orchard near Effort are filled with fresh sour cherries for the first day of the Pick-Your-Own weekend.
"It's really beautiful; the cherries look amazing. It seems like a great experience; we love getting to pick our own from the branches," said Isabelle from New York.
Last year, the Pick-Your-Own fruit didn't happen at the orchard after a late freeze in May damaged the fruit.
"It pretty much destroyed any hope of a sour cherry crop, so it was a really hard year for us because it hurt the sour cherries; it hurt the apples, the peaches, it hurt a lot of things for us fruit-wise for us last year," said store manager Amber Borger.
But it's a much different story this year.
People came from near and far Friday to fill their buckets to the brim with sour cherries. People tell Newswatch 16 they'll use them for things like jelly, pie, or just to eat.
"This seems like the perfect time here. You're going to get them much fresher than at a supermarket," said Mike Sterling of Stroudsburg.
Because of last year's frost, none of these trees had cherries on them. Staff at Heckman's say that actually made for a better crop this year.
"The trees did not spend their efforts growing fruit last year; they focused on healing themselves, so this year, they were able to add extra energy into producing more blossoms, which is why we have such a great crop," explained Borger.
"I love the sour cherry. I grew up with it, and I was looking everywhere for it. It wasn't even an hour, and we picked up all of these cherries," said Lana Sterling of Stroudsburg.
You can pick your own cherries at Heckman Orchard through Sunday.