First Belgian cherries come from… a greenhouse!

Benoit has 200 cherry trees and they do not grow in the open air, but in a greenhouse. This is a first in West Flanders. Initially, the strawberry grower hoped for a kilogram of cherries per tree, but that eventually turned out to be four kilograms.

Early ripe

The trees can therefore enjoy the warmer temperatures and that offers opportunities. “By growing the cherries indoors in a greenhouse, they ripen earlier and we can market them earlier. We will then be in competition with the Spanish cherries, but they are less tasty. We now have a product from our own soil, and if you can pick that ripe from the tree, then that’s the best there is,” says Benoit.