Three years ago I started a small orchard with 2 pears and a peach tree. The first year the peach tree bloomed and sprouted hundreds of peaches. Unfortunately some critters (I suspect squirrels) came in one night and pirated every single baby peach away. The second year we had a very late frost that killed all fruit development. This year the tree was a mass of beautiful pink blossoms which then created a mass of baby peaches.
I was not very hopeful that they would mature without being absconded by some marauder but mature they did. Hundreds of them. So many I had to brace some of the branches that were threatening to break under the weight.
Every day for the past 2 weeks I have been picking a huge bucket of them as they ripen. But since they are not bred with preservatives they rot very quickly. So we have been in peach eating, giving away and processing mode.
Peach jam. Check.
Sliced peaches in canning jars. Check.
Dehydrating peaches. Check.
Processing peaches is a very messy business and I am glad that the yield is finally starting to slow down.
But silly me, last year I was convinced that I would never get peaches to survive so I bought a second tree because I just liked the shape and flower of it. So next year, critters willing, we will have twice as many peaches to deal with. Yikes.
Fun post. I love peaches SO much. Seeing all the canned peaches and jam makes me happy. How did the dried ones turn out?
ReplyDeleteThey probably would have been better if I had peeled them first - the fuzzies are a little odd dried. But still delicious and great for taking on hikes.
ReplyDeletePart of me is jealous, that part of a successful nurturing of an edible product. And part of me is not, that part that means, canning, drying, jam making, no time for all that.
ReplyDeleteGlad the critters (probably squirrels) let you have some yield. Yippee!!
Oh that's fantastic. I love peaches.
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