It's Peach Season!

llama momma wrote:Besides admiring your beautiful fruit I couldn't  help notice the bird netting.  Do you know how to use the stuff without getting personally tangled up in it?   I'm not good with the stuff.  

Well I'm so glad to hear the little bird was OK. That is always a concern of mine when using the netting. I did net a big old black bird in my cherry tree net this year, he found an open seam in the net and got a real good belly full of cherries before I shooed him out and tied up the seam.

Hanging Bird netting is not a particularly fun chore in my experience, but I have managed to reuse the #$@* stuff every year. Dwarf trees are easier with one person. I drape over and wrap around and tie it around the trunk for a secure fit. I find it easier to use several pieces and overlap, keeping it loose to not damage the leaves and small branches. You can use little bits of string or twist ties to bind together the overlaps if they seem to want to slip apart. Layering the net leaves less chance of holes for the birds and squirrels to find a way in. They are very crafty and find any little gap.

The larger trees, like my cherry, I find a helper and two 8 foot bamboo poles and a step ladder. We each hook one corner of the net, stretch it as wide apart as possible, walk towards the tree, reach as high as we can and drop it on the tree. Again I use multiple pieces of netting until the tree is covered. The net I used came in two sizes, 14x14 and 7x21 as I remember. I bought a couple of each and cut as needed. I don't put up the netting until the fruit has really formed and all the leaves are out. I remove the nets as soon as all the fruit is harvested.

I wanted to build a form around the dwarf trees to put the nets on, but my yard is so small it would be in the way for mowing and not very attractive. Good luck, its a real challenge, but that first bite of fresh fruit from your own tree makes it all worthwhile.

For those in the Portland, OR metro area:

This weekend I'm taking the family on the Hood River County Fruit Loop!  On the website it's described as a "35 mile scenic drive through the valley's orchards, forests, farmlands, and friendly communities".  Peaches are in season now and the Summer Fruit Celebration is this weekend!

Peaches and peach syrup for making sorbet. Yum!

camprn wrote:Peaches and peach syrup for making sorbet. Yum!

They look great Camprn! Would you share the peach syrup recipe, please? I love making sorbet.

lyndeeloo wrote:

camprn wrote:Peaches and peach syrup for making sorbet. Yum!

They look great Camprn! Would you share the peach syrup recipe, please? I love making sorbet.

When I was getting ready to can peaches I made extra medium syrup (Ball Blue Book) and heated the peaches in the syrup as I was preparing a hot pack. I filled two jars with the peaches and syrup, then the other 4 jars with syrup and a few peach slices. BWB for 20 minutes.

I will use the peach syrup in place of the syrup one would add in the recipe found at the link below. I like to add pureed fruit to the sorbet.
http://zoebakes.com/2011/03/31/sorbet-101-a-trick-to-getting-a-smooth-sorbet-from-any-juice/

Thanks Camprn!! I'm going to can some peaches shortly, (first attempt with peaches for me) your recipe for peach syrup for sorbet is an added bonus and will work out nicely.

I was admiring your canned peaches, do you slice them in quarters? The recipe I have says slice them in half, but it seems as if you can't get many in a pint jar. I won't be using them for anything other than just eating so I really don't want to put them in quarts. Does it matter if the peaches are sliced up? The recipes I've seen all seem to show peaches halved, I don't want to make a mistake with my peaches.

The ones in the most recent photo were small homegrown peaches and are quartered with some chunks (because I had to cut out bruised sections of the fruit).

You can cut them in half, in slices, or chunks; the halves and slices are pretty and something to consider if you are going to be putting up for display. Since it's just me in the house, I can sliced peaches in half pints and pints. If you have monster peaches and want peach halves you can use a wide mouth pint or quart. Consider how much you will want to eat at a sitting when planning your jar sizes. The BBBook has the simple recipe for peaches. Good luck!  

Canning peaches is the next big canning on my schedule; I do it with a friend who I am teaching to can ( we have done peaches and applesauce in the past but she is not yet confident to go solo).

 

I treated myself this morning to opening a jar of peach jam a made a couple of months ago. OMG was it ever good with my breakfast biscuit!

Nice! Don'cha love peach season in a jar?