Picking Homegrown Peaches!

My first homegrown peaches - well, the first ones I beat the squirrels to getting!

Picking Homegrown Peaches

Aren't they beautiful?

I was so excited when I first spotted them several weeks ago, growing tucked under a full branch of peach tree leaves next to some of my bee hives. It's the first year for this particular compact peach tree but I have grown them in the past on other trees. Only squirrels have beat me to them and walking through my garden scolding squirrels out loud has done nothing but confirmed my neighbor's assessment of who is the crazy person in the neighborhood.

I would check the peaches every morning, gently peeking under the leaves and counting to make sure none were missing. Squirrels were also apparently checking because several would scurry off as I got close to the compact, dwarf Stark Brother's peach tree. These are grown in Louisiana, Missouri so they have quickly acclimated to my mid-Missouri hillside garden.

Knowing in the past squirrels have been more successful than I have been harvesting the fruit, I picked them just a tad from being perfectly ripe. 

How did I know to pick them?

One of the peaches had a bug spot, a sure sign the fruit was getting nicely ripe.

Not a good technique to use if you are a farmer but as a home gardener, it works for me. I also have a nice collection of paring knifes I can use to clean up that little spot.

Once inside, I added the three peaches to a brown bag with an apple to finish ripening.

My three little peaches in a brown bag with an apple to finish ripening, squirrel-free!

These three will once again be checked every day for ripeness.

So silly but it is such a feeling of accomplishment. Have you ever beat the squirrels to garden fare?

Charlotte

How to Pick Blackberries

There are so many fruits available in summer from cherries to watermelon. One of my favorites are so tempting, little dark berries at the tips of arching shrubs available in north America mid-summer. Little does one realize how thorny these plants can be!

Blackberries grow in almost all continents, a plant so flexible it has adopted to a wide range of climates. Regardless of where you are planning to pick them, make sure you are:

• Wearing a thick pair of pants to catch thorns before they hit skin.
• Boots if you're walking into a blackberry patch after a rain. Some plants grow shoots that can't be seen above soil but you sure can feel them when you step on them.
• Don't wear a long sleeve shirt, it will just get caught in thorns.
• Gloves are optional but if you do wear them, select a pair with good finger dexterity.

When picking, go slowly and focus on berries at the ends, away from thorns. Some berries look ripe but may not be so make sure you have good lighting on the plants.

Worth the effort?

You bet!

Charlotte