Heavy Branches and the Lonely Peach

Bing cherries, we will harvest later this week.

We planted our stone fruit orchard nearly 5 years ago. And while there have been a few successes, this is the first year we can say the trees are “heavy” with fruit. The peaches and nectarines are in process, but the Bing cherries are truly on the cusp. We eat them daily, but the big harvest will come later this week. The limbs on the Bing cherry tree are bending under the weight of the fruit. Amazingly, this same tree yielded just a few tiny, tepid berries last year but will give us baskets of cherries this year. A small reminder that patience and effort are sometimes rewarded.

Cherry branch bending under the weight of the fruit. This is good.

We are pleasantly surprised by the density of the cherries.

And sometimes there are pleasant surprises. The hybrid Van and Black Tartarian cherry tree was mostly planted to pollinate the Bing. But, as we noted last week, this tree is also bearing fruit. The Vans are tasty and the Tartarians are just coming in. We look forward to tasting all three of the cherries just off the tree.

Netting the tress to protect the fruit in the orchard.

On a more sober note, we took the plunge and netted the trees in the orchard. We needed help to do this, but as most of the trees have real fruit, now is the time. The orchard is less picturesque, but is hopefully protected from some of the nighttime raids of earlier years. We’ve written about our more…ummm, “active” protection of the garden and orchard from varmints, so let’s hope the passive systems work as well.

A flash of purple amidst the green.

Otherwise, the apple and pear trees outside of the orchard are looking great. The blossoms of spring are now the small fruits of the tree. These are older trees that bear fruit every year. We deal with leaf curl and the occasional pest, but we rarely worry about these trees. They are in their prime. Our younger Macintosh apple is also looking good and we expect a decent crop this year.

Pears on an older tree. Lots of fruit, but months from being ready.

Gravenstein apples. These will grow quickly, some will be ready as soon as July.

Young macintosh apples. This will be our first crop from this tree.

Finally, there is one stone fruit tree that remains un-netted, our new Suncrest peach. The Suncrest is one of the best-tasting varieties of peach we have ever eaten. The Suncrest is a freestone peach with a gorgeous blush color and bright orange flesh. The flavor is intense with sweet, tart and tangy flavors. They are sooo good, but just as hard to find. Suncrests bruise easily and are difficult to transport. Only a few commercial farmers even sell them in California (happily, one is at our farmers market). We decided to grow our own Suncrests, but it took over a year just to find a tree. We finally found the tree and planted it last year. This year we are rewarded with one, single, Suncrest peach. And the branch is indeed heavy with that one peach. Rather than being disappointed, we view this is a positive sign of things to come.

The lone, and lonely, Suncrest peach.

23 thoughts on “Heavy Branches and the Lonely Peach”

How wonderful to be able to say your trees are heavy with fruit. we got hit by the bad frost just after blossom time and so our fruit is heavy with nothing at all.. I shall have to pick vicariously through you! Wonderful to find you again.. c

Thanks for reading. Each year is different. This one was good. 2 years ago the wood rats stripped every piece of fruit from the trees the day before we picked.

The frost is a bummer, though. I guess Michigan got it hard this year, too..

If you don’t mind I would like to move in and paint your trees plein air for a couple months. Just kidding, but honestly who wouldn’t dream of doing this. Ann

putneyfarm
May 30, 2012 @ 3:48 am

We would love the paintings! And thanks for making the Rose Pearl cocktail- I hope it went well..

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Poor little peach.

putneyfarm
May 30, 2012 @ 3:15 am

It will have cousins next year…

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Thanks for the follow! Your blog is lovely!

putneyfarm
May 30, 2012 @ 5:30 am

Thanks!

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Gorgeous fruit! I’m in Southern California, but delicious stone fruit is just now appearing in my weekly Abundant Harvest produce box. I have a real appreciation for local farming and your photos really give me a great peek at the energy that goes into providing such wonderful fruit! I admire! Debra

putneyfarm
May 30, 2012 @ 5:31 am

Thanks for reading. Jealous of produce in Socal…you are a few weeks ahead!

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Are you in the central valley? My orchard this year was again affected by the weather. I lost all the apricots, and have maybe two cherries. My nectarine is fully loaded as are the grapes. A few pears and plums…I am envious! Thank you for signing up to follow my blog!

putneyfarm
May 30, 2012 @ 3:12 pm

We are in the south bay area. We do get frost and some other weather, but all good this year. Last year, not so much. Enjoying your blog, always good to compare notes…

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- babso2you
  May 30, 2012 @ 5:39 pm
  
  we came from the Bay Area to the Foothills…what a difference! Your fruit is much farther along than mine!

Your photos are beautiful!

I am absolutely green with envy … I love cherries! Thanks for sharing your lovely orchard – Susan

a lovely trip around your orchard – cherries are a favourite of mine. But what do you mean by “Suncrest is a freestone peach “?

putneyfarm
May 30, 2012 @ 4:08 pm

Hi. Really enjoyed your last post.

“Freestone” means the pit, or stone, does not cling to the flesh. A “cling” or clingstone peach holds onto the pit. No specific differences in flavor, just easier to cut / eat the peach.

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- Promenade Claire
  May 30, 2012 @ 5:18 pm
  
  Thanks for clarifying that, roll on summer when we get to eat peaches imported from France and Spain – the taste of summer 🙂