This is what I did today! :-)

[jenn&charles]

Yesterday I pulled a ripe peach off of our tree and realized it was time to pick and process peaches! This is the first year the peaches actually look nice instead of all deformed or small, so instead of turning them into jam, I’m canning most of them. 

 

Ugh...edited to say that the post squishes my pictures. Not sure how to fix that. You can see them accurately on my blog or by clicking on them.

 

 

This is what they looked like this morning when I went to pick them. Some were so big they looked like apples.

I couldn’t reach them all with the stepladder, so I left some on the tree – but here is the haul from this morning. It doesn’t look like a ton, but that’s almost 3 full 5 gallon buckets worth. I looked it up and a 5 gallon bucket is a little over half a bushel…so we netted approx. 1 and 1/2 bushels, so far. That’s something like 72 pounds! One bushel is supposed to net 18-24 quarts of canned peaches. It will be interesting to see how accurate that is when I’m done.

Here is the finished product – my first 3 jars!

I tried a raw pack recipe this time (that’s why the peaches are floating a bit in the syrup). Later this week, when I process some more, I’m going to try a hot pack recipe. The hot pack method is supposed to make the peaches shrink up a little before packing them in the jar so they will fill up more of a jar and float less.

I made these with a medium syrup but I’m curious to try a honey syrup too!

So anyway, I always get excited doing this kind of stuff - hence my sharing it here. ;-) Anyone else can?

 

[momto10blessings]

Wow! Yum! I used to can a ton if stuff, but life is so busy now

[jenn&charles]

Wow! Yum! I used to can a ton if stuff, but life is so busy now

 

I just have the one left at home so I'm finding all kinds of time for things I used to not have time for and I love it. :-)

 

I always used to wonder how I would adjust to not having kids since they were such an all encompassing part of my life for so long - but now I'm seeing all the cool stuff I can do and am transitioning to something else.

 

It's really funny in a way because I used to be the most NON housewifey kind of person but now I'm learning so many skills I wish I would have developed years ago. Canning / food preservation is just a part of that.

 

Next on the agenda: sewing!

[BlessedMom]

Beautiful peaches! They look yummy!!

[Shamzanne]

Looks familiar! I just picked up three flats of peaches (63 lbs) and I'm starting the freezing process. We love them frozen for smoothies . . . they make smoothies so creamy and delicious.

[jenn&charles]

Looks familiar! I just picked up three flats of peaches (63 lbs) and I'm starting the freezing process. We love them frozen for smoothies . . . they make smoothies so creamy and delicious.

 

I would freeze some except a lot of the room in my freezer is already taken up with nectarines and plums waiting to be turned into jam, lol.

[Random]

YUM! That looks like a nice day's work.

 

  :001_smile:

[Cinder]

Yum! I only ever canned peach preserves once. When we lived in MS there was a peach farmer from over the border in AL who'd bring peaches to sell. They were so ripe and juicy and delicious. And they made the prettiest preserves. I'm not sure what the variety was but it was reddish on the inside so the preserves came out a pinkish-peach color. Now I want peach preserves! :drool5:

[Ewe Mama]

Jenn, you inspire me!

[zoobie]

Oh how lucky you are! And yum!!!

[gingersmom]

I'm so jealous!

[bzymom]

Yummmmm!!!!! Jealous, jealous, jealous!!

[trulycrabby]

Gorgeous peaches! Thanks for the pictures! :001_wub:

[LibraryLover]

Very, very nice!

[Susan in TN]

The Georgia peaches we got from the co-op were stunning this year - even the 2nd quality ones. We now have a nice collection of peach jam, peach-raspberry jam, frozen diced peaches, frozen peach cobbler filling, peach bread, and a few more fresh in the fridge.

 

Yours look perfect!

[Denise in IN]

Yum!  My parents' peach tree had tons of peaches last year, so we canned and froze some.  Still enjoying them!

[TammyS]

They look beautiful!

 

We planted some dwarf pear and apple trees back in April (and 1 apricot, but I'm afraid it's died, boo).  It's been so hot, I really haven't been getting out and looking them over as much as I should.  You have re-inspired me!

 

Maybe I'll put in some peaches next year!

[fairfarmhand]

okay, so tell me the secret to growing peaches.

 

I've got to figure out a spraying routine or something. 3 years running our peaches have been worm eaten and/or shriveled.

 

What am I doing wrong?

[fairfarmhand]

The Georgia peaches we got from the co-op were stunning this year - even the 2nd quality ones. We now have a nice collection of peach jam, peach-raspberry jam, frozen diced peaches, frozen peach cobbler filling, peach bread, and a few more fresh in the fridge.

 

Yours look perfect!

 

I got a huge box from the Co-op too this year. They were amazing!

[jenn&charles]

The Georgia peaches we got from the co-op were stunning this year - even the 2nd quality ones. We now have a nice collection of peach jam, peach-raspberry jam, frozen diced peaches, frozen peach cobbler filling, peach bread, and a few more fresh in the fridge.

 

Yours look perfect!

 

Will you share your recipe for the peach bread? I've never made that before, but it sounds delicious! 

[jenn&charles]

They look beautiful!

 

We planted some dwarf pear and apple trees back in April (and 1 apricot, but I'm afraid it's died, boo).  It's been so hot, I really haven't been getting out and looking them over as much as I should.  You have re-inspired me!

 

Maybe I'll put in some peaches next year!

 

We've had trees die in the past, but stuck with it and it's been well worth it. You just have to give them more attention until they are established and that seems to make all the difference. :-)

 

Also, I've had better luck buying trees from a nursery and steering clear of "big box" stores like Home Depot & Lowes. The nursery trees were better suited for our climate and soil type (we have heavy clay). They had trees with the proper root stock, etc.

 

If you do decide to get some more trees, check out this online site which has a FOREVER guarantee on their trees:

 

http://www.gurneys.com/

 

 

 

If you're not happy with one of our products, we'll replace it, give you a credit or refund your money for the full amount of your purchase price. All nursery stock, trees and plants are guaranteed for as long as you garden. All seeds and merchandise are guaranteed for one full year.

 

I'm going to check out their blueberry bushes and maybe get another tree from them. I wish I had known about them earlier as we lost several trees from a local store after a year and were out of luck as far as getting a refund.

[Delirium]

Looks like tasty fun.

[jenn&charles]

okay, so tell me the secret to growing peaches.

 

I've got to figure out a spraying routine or something. 3 years running our peaches have been worm eaten and/or shriveled.

 

What am I doing wrong?

 

We had the same problem - not worms, but they were deformed and small. I couldn't can them because they were so ugly and weird. They were only good for jam.

 

This is the FIRST year they turned out good and the only thing I did differently was spray them with Liqui-Cop Fungicide. It's a copper fungicidal spray. I didn't start spraying in the fall like you are supposed to, but I did manage to get it in the spring before it had any fruit on it. It seems to have made a world of a difference. I also made sure that we watered it more frequently than last year. 

 

I also purchased Neem oil to spray on our trees that have insect problems. Neem oil is supposed to be safe and although it doesn't kill insects instantly, it does eventually work. You can read more about it here:

http://www.discoverneem.com/neem-oil-insecticide.html

 

It doesn't kill beneficial insects which is a nice benefit.

 

I'm still learning a lot about all of this. I used to think you could just plant fruit trees and leave them alone and everything would work out perfectly. While that is the case with some of our trees, it's not at all with others. I still have to figure out what's going on with some of our trees (as well as issues with some of the items in our garden). It's a learning process, but one that I enjoy. :-)

 

I hope you can figure out what's going on with your peaches. Try spraying the tree and see if that helps. It really helped ours (unless it was a crazy coincidence) and the fruit is so beautiful this year!

[Susan in TN]

Will you share your recipe for the peach bread? I've never made that before, but it sounds delicious!

Here you go. I will admit it didn't taste as "peachy" as I was hoping. Next time I might add diced peaches as well. I tripled the recipe and made about 14 mini loaves.

 

Georgia Peach Bread

 

3 cups sliced fresh peaches ........1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

6 tablespoons sugar ......... 1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour .........1/2 cup shortening or veg. oil

1 teaspoon baking powder ..... 2 eggs

1 teaspoon soda

1/4 teaspoon salt ..... 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Place peaches and 6 tablespoons sugar in container of electric blender; process until pureed. (Mixture should yield about 2 1/4 cups.) Combine flour, baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside. Combine 1 1/2 cups sugar and shortening; cream well. Add eggs and mix well. Add peach puree and dry ingredients, mixing until ingredients are moistened. Stir in nuts and vanilla. Spoon batter into 2 well greased and floured 9x5x3-inch loaf pans. Bake at 325° for 55-60 minutes or until done. Cool 10 minutes in pan; turn out on rack, and let cool completely.

 

Yield: 2 loaves

[jenn&charles]

Here you go. I will admit it didn't taste as "peachy" as I was hoping. Next time I might add diced peaches as well. I tripled the recipe and made about 14 mini loaves.

 

 

 

Thank you so much!!! I'll have to give it a try.

[Kim in Appalachia]

Nice! We didn't get any peaches this year. One of the trees is dying, so they couldn't cross pollinate. But last year we had a bumper crop. I'm out of peach jam, which makes me a little sad, but at the same time i don't have the time to do that work.

 

Enjoy your peaches!

[LibraryLover]

okay, so tell me the secret to growing peaches.

 

I've got to figure out a spraying routine or something. 3 years running our peaches have been worm eaten and/or shriveled.

 

What am I doing wrong?

:) we also have peach trees. They are nice and not a horrible yield, but not like that! We are doing it 100% organic! but sometimes I feel like ack! Forget that! lol

[jenn&charles]

:) we also have peach trees. They are nice and not a horrible yield, but not like that! We are doing it 100% organic! but sometimes I feel like ack! Forget that! lol

 

I wanted to do everything organic, but it's heartbreaking to lose all of your fruit on an entire tree (like our apple tree) when spraying it in the fall & spring could have saved the crop. Our peaches looked horrible before and just ONE application of copper spray (before there was even any fruit) made such a huge difference in the yield and the quality.

 

Same thing goes for my garden - I got so fed up with bugs totally destroying things that I ended up spraying some stuff (that is safe for garden produce) and just washed it off before eating. It still tastes better than the store and it kept my crop(s) from being completely destroyed, especially the seedlings. 

 

I'm going to get some books from the library though to learn more about plant diseases and pests and see how I can better combat them all through natural (and inexpensive) means. I WANT to do it all organically, but I've decided I don't want to throw our money away on plants that get eaten up or fruit trees that won't produce anything because they have a disease or pest that can easily be prevented.

 

I think it's going to end up being a balance and we just never will be 100% organic because it just doesn't work as well.

[fairfarmhand]

I wanted to do everything organic, but it's heartbreaking to lose all of your fruit on an entire tree (like our apple tree) when spraying it in the fall & spring could have saved the crop. Our peaches looked horrible before and just ONE application of copper spray (before there was even any fruit) made such a huge difference in the yield and the quality.

 

Same thing goes for my garden - I got so fed up with bugs totally destroying things that I ended up spraying some stuff (that is safe for garden produce) and just washed it off before eating. It still tastes better than the store and it kept my crop(s) from being completely destroyed, especially the seedlings. 

 

I'm going to get some books from the library though to learn more about plant diseases and pests and see how I can better combat them all through natural (and inexpensive) means. I WANT to do it all organically, but I've decided I don't want to throw our money away on plants that get eaten up or fruit trees that won't produce anything because they have a disease or pest that can easily be prevented.

 

I think it's going to end up being a balance and we just never will be 100% organic because it just doesn't work as well.

Yeah, I understand.

 

We live in the South, so bugs are horrible. Mostly it's the Japanese beetles that chew the fruits down to the pit.

 

But this year it was some sort of blight that shriveled the fruit before it ever ripened.