May 2026

On the 7th May we had the pleasure of having prizewinning local cherry grower and expert

Brian Piper of Piper’s Cherries, Boughton Monchelsea, who gave a talk on growing cherries, discussing past and present methods.  He was joined by his daughter, Rachel, a biochemist by profession, who now runs the farm alongside her father.



It was interesting to hear how Brian got into farming, driving a tractor at just 7 years old! Cherry picking was hard work then, with tall custom-made ladders needed for pickers to get to the top of the large trees, as they then were. Nowadays the cherry trees are sourced to be grown at lower heights and also pruned, in order to make picking more accessible, safer and easier. Rachel gave us a song on ‘Pollination Day’, which was most entertaining.


The first crop of cherries is normally ready to be picked by June, but the season is short ending with the final varieties cropping in July. It is hard work but all worthwhile for the Pipers, as over the years, Piper’s Cherries have won 15 firsts in the National Soft Fruit Show for different varieties of cherry, plus the best tasting ‘Star Dust’ which is a white cherry or as the Germans say a ‘blush’. 

Piper’s have also previously won best entry in the show, giving them the honour of supplying His Majesty King Charles III, for which the Monarch sent a letter of thanks. The best entry in show cherry variety was Kir lam Our, which is a new German bred variety.

Our members and guests thoroughly enjoyed the evening, and we will certainly be making a beeline to Piper’s Farm in Boughton Monchelsea at the start of the cherry season in June for the tastiest cherries in Kent, if not for the King of England, and if not the world! 

With our thanks to Brian Piper and his daughter Rachel for a wonderful talk, and we wish Piper’s Cherries all the best for the forthcoming season.