Picking Peaches

Ah, yes. It's summertime. When you can take a break from working outside, get a drink, and sit in the shade. That first sip of iced tea sizzles down your throat and into your stomach. It makes an almost audible hissing sound as it travels down.

About eight years ago, Mel watched a Youtube video about how to grow fruit trees from seeds. She started three peach, an apple, and a lemon tree seeds from produce she had purchased from the store. As they grew into quart, then three gallon sized containers, she began thinking of where she'd plant them. She decided to leave the lemon tree in the greenhouse because of the cold winters. She planted the apple tree out where the

Three peach trees in our garden.

orchard is now. It was later killed by the Bobcat when we terraced the orchard. The three peach trees were planted at the edge of the new side driveway. The garden didn't stretch as far as it does now. It was only for a year so she could move them when she figured out where she wanted them to go.

Fast forward five years, we now have an orchard area to plant the peaches in, but the peach trees have gotten so large we can't move them easily. She did top them off so the main trunk only reaches five foot. All three are planted together in a clump with barely a foot between the main trunks. Up until this year, all the peaches either fell prey to insects or squirrels. So, we never even tasted them.

This year was different. In spite of Mother Nature sending cold weather until June, we have an abundance of peaches that even the bugs, squirrels, and birds couldn't consume them all. They are smaller than usual, between a golf and tennis ball size, and quite tart. Yes, we finally got to taste our peaches!


It would probably take ten of them sliced to fill a pint sized jar with peaches. Currently, only one of the three trees have ripe fruit. The other two are loaded with green peaches. So we'd have no shortage of them if I wanted to do that. I haven't done anything in the way of fertilizer or cared for these trees in the five years I've been here. I didn't see the since in wasting my time and resources with these trees if we weren't getting anything from them. For five years, I've held off moving the trees or removing them out of my garden. But surprise, surprise! We have a bumper crop this year. So I'll be fertilizing them this year. Actually, we decided to take the smallest one out so the other two would have a better chance. We are seriously talking about moving them down to the orchard if next year's produce is larger and sweeter...if not all three will be cut down and we'll start over.

So what am I doing with all these tart little peaches? Well, I've been picking them. I've been dicing them up for jams and jellies. I've even halved some for cobblers and pie filling. All these things have loads of sugar added to them so the peaches being tart is a mute point. I will say our little peaches are packed with a great peachy flavor. It's a case that we've been gifted these peaches to harvest. It was totally unexpected. So as usual, it's waste not, want not, and see where it goes.

How to make money with just some ingenuity and a little bit of time? The year was 1991, I was a single mother, working my way through college with five children underfoot. I'd pick up cull peaches for free from other vendors. They were too bruised or weren't pretty enough to sell. The next week I'd have more peach jam to sell. Not to be out done, my children picked up corn husks and silk from other vendors. They made corn husk dolls and corn husk refrigerator magnets to sell too.

 What better way to serve a "Little bit of Georgia in every bite!" This is the tag line I came up with when I sold my peach jam at the farmers market. Tourist's snatched them up by the case load. Soon, other vendors offered to sell our wares for a percentage and I didn't have to get a stall at the market anymore. I just delivered 20 cases of jam to the vendor before the market opened and settled up after it closed. I also picked up their culled peaches. By the time the market closed down in October, I'd made enough money for my textbooks for two semesters, and my children had saved enough money for their own back to school supplies. How's that for cents making sense?

Y'all have a blessed day!

Cockeyed Jo

English Peas- Disappointing Harvest

Harvest hopes dashed!

I'm not sure what I did wrong, but my projected harvest for English peas is way off. I'm averaging one to two peas per pod versus 6-10 peas per pod. The harvest started out well, but has now dwindled down to this. I'm thoroughly disappointed. Even with 99% germination of the seeds, there's no way I'll meet my goal of self sufficiency in this vegetables unless we have a very productive fall crop.

I believe part of the problem was over worked pollinators. When the peas flowered there was direct competition from the peach trees, apple trees, clover, and assorted other things in bloom. I wish I wasn't so allergic to bees. I'd keep a hive or two. Even after four years of being here and eating local honey, I still have to grab my Epi-pen when popped by the local population. It doesn't happen very often, but it does happen once or twice a gardening season.  Epi-pens ain't cheap. If my airway didn't  try to close off with swelling, even when stung on the leg, I would bother, but it does. Anyone with this severe reaction has no business being around bees, but they are a necessary evil for a garden.

The other part of the problem was the seed itself. While I got 99% germination. I'd never planted this variety before. The variety, Lincoln, I usually planted was sold out when I purchased the seed. I had to go with an unknown heritage variety. Needless to say, I won't be buying it again. It had a no star rating. Now, I know why. But at the time, there was no other choice. At least I made up for the cost of the seed...just barely. Lesson learned! 

Meanwhile, the first plantings of Tendergreen bush green beans have flowered and the bees are busy with those. I'm getting ready this week to add compost and plant another three 8' rows more this week. The first plantings of sweet corn that survived the chickens and dogs will be knee high by the 4th of July while the second planting of the 3-sister mounds will be a little over mid shin worth of growth. The dent corn is once again planted in the orchard area.  It is at mid shin level, I'm not worried about it though. It'll catch up and be harvested before the first frost. The black eyed peas, kidney and lima beans, and the squashes have sprouted They look to be strong shoots. I've sowed the pumpkin seeds closest to the far end of the garden from the house. They'll have plenty of room to spread out. 

The cantaloupe and watermelon have been once again trellised to grow vertically once again on the repurposed metal DVD rack Mel picked up at a store closing liquidation sale, No sign of rust in 7 years of use outdoors and its bear to move. More than enough support for two Sugar Baby watermelons and cantaloupes on each 3'x 6' side. It's easy to train the vines up the rack.

I'm still hoping to produce enough to get us by for at least a year. Here. we're crossing our fingers for no more disappointing harvests.

Y'all have a blessed day!

Cockeyed Jo

Pick it Now or Tomorrow? The Beauty of a Homestead Garden

I've been watching my garden grow and am content with its progress. We actually planted very little in the garden itself. We just planted a lot of a few things. What I did plant has started producing fruit. I get a thrill each time I see a tiny vegetable start to form and grow bigger to maturity.

I grew this with my own one hand! Yes, I've been doing this for decades, but this cycle of life never ceases to amaze me. God is perfect in all He plans. Yes, it takes a lot of nurturing on my part to get seeds to grow to maturity, but the joy of biting into that first cucumber harvested from the garden to the last, is tasty, nutritious bite just can't be beat. I use cucumbers as an example here because that was the first thing I've harvested so far. Soon, I'll be busy making bread and butter pickles. I've only got one jar left from last year's crop. This year, I need to make double.

With the rains, I've been watching my zucchini, cucumber, and tomato plants very carefully. All it takes is a little rain, and small zucchinis and cucumbers blow up to huge zucchinis within 24 hrs. Tomatoes will split. Not that I mind split tomatoes. I'm going to cut them up anyhow, but pests can enter a tomato this way. Enter the decision making. Do I pick it now or tomorrow? This is the beauty of planting your own garden. You decide on the ripeness you want. The extra day of sunshine or rain can add to the taste and growth to any vegetable.This is something commercial farmers miss, but you as a homesteader gets to choose.

Another consideration you need to make is about processing your harvest. When the fruits of your labor start coming in, your first inclination is to eat it that day. Nothing beats fresh eating. Otherwise, you'd purchase your vegetables from the grocery store or produce markets, right? I do a 50:50 ratio. Half a harvest is for fresh eating and half is for preserving. Will leaving the produce on the plant one more day or two allow other ripening fruit be harvest size? Can I get a full canner load, or fill a freezer bag by waiting? I want everything preserved at the peak of freshness. If the answer is no, then I'll go ahead and pick it. It will be incorporated into a recipe for the night. Hoppin' John is a great recipe for using a handful of black-eyed peas, 1 tomato, and 1 pepper in. Just chop up some onion and add the rice and you got a tasty side dish or add some ham for a meal. This is what I'm fixing for dinner tonight because I had to harvest these today or lose them.

Of course, there is the old stand by of a good, old tomato sandwich with that one tomato with a cockeyed twist. Two fresh slices of homemade bread, a little bit of homemade mayo, fresh basil leaves, a sprinkling of fresh oregano, some slices of homemade mozzarella cheese, and a little bit of salt and fresh ground pepper. I'll brush my bread with a little olive oil and rub it with a clove of garlic, and grill it before I fix my sandwiches. It's to die for.

Are you hungry yet? I'll quit for now.

Y'all have a blessed day.