2017 Peach Bonanza

“Life is better than death, I believe, if only because it is less boring, and because it has fresh peaches in it.” ― Alice Walker, Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology

Last summer, from June through September, we multiply thinned, multiply harvested (and asked friends and acquaintances, and their friends and acquaintances, over to harvest), sliced, peeled, froze, Vodka-ized, brandy-ized, peachcello’d, baked, cooked, and ate the peaches that grew on two semi-dwarf “Red Haven” peach trees that anchor the fruit guild garden.

peaches15Aug2017
15 August 2017

But in the stone fruit frenzy, I forgot to write about it. Now, with some distance — though a new bumper crop ripens inexorably on the trees as I write — I can finally document the tumult, mayhem, and delight of the 2017 peach season in our suburban yard in New Hampshire.

*

The two semi-dwarf trees, already a good size when purchased from a local farm stand,  were planted in late summer of 2011. The next year, we had a couple of peaches on one tree. In 2013, no flowers or peaches. Two more peaches appeared on the same tree in 2014, then nothing on either tree in 2015 or 2016. Last summer, both trees made up for lost time with over 1,000 peaches between them. In fact, major tree limbs broke with their weight.

brokenpeachtreelimbclose6Aug2017
ouch – 6 Aug 2017

This year, we have a half-dozen limbs propped up with crutches to try to prevent a recurrence.

crutchesholdinguppeachtreeguild15July2018
15 July 2018

The saga began in May, or rather, I’m sure it began much earlier, but the humans noticed it in May.

fruitguildpeachtreesbuddingsnow14May2017
trees budding in snow, 14 May 2017
peachflowerssnow14May2017
peach flowers with snow and light ice, 14 May 2017
pinkpeachbloom15May2017
peach bloom 15 May 2017

By mid-June, we had peach nubs, which we started thinning.

peachtreeloadedwithpeachnubs13June2017
peach nubs, 13 June 2017
peachtreebranchesloadedwithpeachnubs13June2017
more peach nubs, 13 June 2017

In the three or four weeks following, we culled the peaches three times so that they weren’t closer than about 5″-6″ apart on the same branch. It’s one of those terrible things you have to do in a garden, destroy perfectly perfect fruit or flowers in their infancy so that what remains is stronger and healthier.

peachtreesafterpeachculling21June2017
the trees after some culling, 21 June 2017 (“Carolina Moonlight” baptisia and “Moonshine” yarrow blooming)
peachfuzzy22June2017
fuzzy little peach, 22 June 2017
peachesafterculling24June2017
peaches after more culling, 24 June 2017

We watched them grow and redden in July and August …

peach8July2017
looking bigger and blushier on 8 July 2017
peaches4Aug2017
And yet bigger on 4 August 2017
peaches15Aug2017
About ready to harvest, 15 August 2017
peachestree17Aug2017
so many ripe peaches! 17 August 2017
peachtreesfruitguild18Aug2017
heavy-laden peach trees, 18 August 2017
redpeaches18Aug2017
bright red peaches, 18 August 2017

And then came the first harvest, on 22 August 2017:

firstpickedpeaches22Aug2017

largepeaches23Aug2017
some of the largest peaches, 23 August 2017

And another harvest …

80peachesharvested27Aug2017
80 peaches harvested on 27 August 2017

 

*

And with dozens of harvests, which went on until mid-September, I tried to find creative ways to use the peaches now or preserve them for later. One of the easiest ways to use a lot of peaches without too much prep is to make peach vodka and peach-cello (like limoncello but with peaches instead of lemons).

Peachcellorecipe

Somehow I never took a photo of the peachcello and it’s all gone now. But here’s peach vodka in the making:

firstbatchpeachvodka26Aug2017
first batch of peach vodka ready to age, 26 August 2017
decantingpeachvodka6Sept2017
decanting the aged (10 days+) peach-infused vodka through cheesecloth, 6 Sept. 2017
homemadepeachvodkainbottles6Sept2017
final product of homemade peach vodka, 6 Sept. 2017

We made some lovely peach cocktails using the peach vodka:

peachpunchcocktail7Sept2017
peach punch cocktail, 7 Sept. 2017

Peach Punch Cocktail recipe

An orangish cocktail made from peach vodka, lime juice, orange juice, and elderflower liqueur, served in a chilled cocktail glass.  

Ingredients

  • 2 oz peach vodka 
  • 1/2 oz elderflower liqueur (St-Germain)
  • 1/2 oz orange juice
  • 1/2 oz lime juice 
  • Garnish: Peach

Directions

  • Shake all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker.
  • Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
  • Garnish with a peach slice.

“The waiter walked over with a tray and two orangey-pink drinks. He placed them on the table. “Georgia Peaches. Peach schnapps, brandy, cranberry juice- the first request the bartender’s ever had for one of these.” ― Jenny Nelson, Georgia’s Kitchen

*

And we made peach cobbler, peach bread, peach slices to be frozen, peach crepes — and spouse baked a peach pie from the frozen peaches just a month ago.

peachcobbler3Sept2017
peach cobbler, 3 Sept. 2017
peachcobblerbread3Sept2017
peach cobbler bread, 3 Sept. 2017
threeloavespeachpecancobblerbread5Sept2017
three loaves of peach cobbler bread, 5 Sept. 2017
peachesfreezer30Aug2017
peaches in the freezer, 30 August 2017
peachcrepe3Sept2017
peach crepe, 3 Sept. 2017
TomspeachpieBontop29June2018
peach pie, 29 June 2018

*

“Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?”  ― T.S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

Lots of friends, neighbours, and veritable strangers came over to pick peaches from the trees. Some made peach jam and gave us a few jars!

I also advertised far and wide that there were fresh peaches in pans in the garage, with paper bags available, too, and that anyone could come collect them at their leisure. Batches were labelled as to ripeness and readiness; if the very ripe ones weren’t taken, I used them that day for something, whether more vodka, peach bread, our dessert, or just as an afternoon snack.

peachessunroom31Aug2017
peaches in batches according to ripeness in the sunroom, 31 Aug. 2017
peachesgarage31Aug2017
peaches in the garage, free for the taking, 31 Aug. 2017

By 11 September, there were just a few peaches still on the trees:

onlyafewpeachesleftladderfruitguild11Sept2017

And I picked the last of the bounty on 13 September.

*

There are still more peaches in the freezer, sliced and whole, and still a bit more peach vodka and peach brandy to be finished up before the next onslaught in three or four weeks.

Here are a few photos from the trees so far this year:

peachblossom13May2018
peach blossom, 13 May 2018
peachesneedthinningfruitguild24June2018
peaches needing thinning, 24 June 2018
peachpinkfuzz7July2018
pink fuzzy peach, 7 July 2018
peachesontreesfruitguild22July2018
peaches on trees, 22 July 2018

*

Last year while we were in thick of the peach pother we had almost daily visits from, it turned out, a neighbour’s cat … whose name was Peaches!

Peachescatonpatio7July2017
on the patio, 7 July 2017
peachescatbetweenmollyslegsgarden16Aug2017
between my feet, 16 August 2017
Peachescatwillowgentianbloomsbeforepartialeclipse243pm21Aug2017
in the willow gentian during the partial eclipse on 21 August 2017

The neighbours moved and Peaches hasn’t been back since … but maybe in August, when the stone-fruit peaches ripen, the feline Peaches will be drawn to us again?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 comments

  1. Hi Molly,

    Since peaches are one of my favorite fruits, I enjoyed reading about and also envied your abundant crop. I planted two peach trees in my yard and one has since died. The other has plenty of leaves on one side of the tree only, but I have hope for its future. So far, no fruit to speak of. I remember last year’s peach bounty and cannot believe there will be another this year. I was wondering if you had tried to make a peach sangria with the peach brandy. Mmmm. I have black raspberry bushes at my community garden plot that are loaded with fruit this year.

    Phil got a teaching position at KUA so he will be staying in the area. Hurray! Ernie is working on a show for the George Marshall Gallery in York Maine; the opening is August 28. I am going to a weekly yoga class in VT and other classes at the community center, tending the garden and just plain enjoying this beautiful summer.

    I loved the beautiful pictures in your blog. Thanks for sharing.

    Donna

    On Sun, Jul 22, 2018 at 2:54 PM, A Moveable Garden wrote:

    > mmwm posted: ““Life is better than death, I believe, if only because it is > less boring, and because it has fresh peaches in it.” ― Alice Walker, Home > Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology Last summer, from June through September, > we multiply thinned, multiply harvested (an” >

    1. Donna, so glad Phil is staying in the area! Thanks for looking at my photos and blog. I hope your remaining peach tree survives and thrives; at one point, I wondered if ours were going to live. Maybe you have too much shade for them? Are the leaves on the surviving tree in more sun than the side without leaves? There’s also peach leaf curl, a fungus, which affects some of my peach leaves every year so they fall off. I’m a little worried about the two bountiful peach years in a row — seems like it really stresses the trees. I haven’t made peach sangria but I may well this year! I’ll post something on FB when the peaches are being harvested and if you’re nearby, please come get some!

  2. This was a great reminder of last year’s exchange of recipes and all the figuring out of what in the world to do with so many peaches. I arrived in Maine this summer to discover a gallon of peach cello in the making. Soon to become interesting new drinks.

Leave a Reply