Inbetween peaches

I had just a few peaches for sale yesterday at Central Park. I should have some more next Wed (8/11). too, but I will not be at the market on Saturday for the first time all summer! Have no fear though, peaches are not yet over. I will bring some Sweet Sue next Wed (8/11), and then I will probably have a week or so off before the last 2 varieties come in. So look for some more tasty, juicy, sweet peaches from me in about 2 weeks. I will post to this blog when they are ready.

At the Market This Week (7/27):

Well, I neglected to post anything last week, but we still have peaches!!! Tomorrow will be no different either... At the Wednesday farmer's market in Central Park, I will be bringing some more Fay Elberta, and maybe even some Sweet Sue. These peaches are all sweet and juicy freestones!

I will also be bringing in some white-flesh peaches. These little beauty queens are pale cream colored with just a blush of red. And the flesh on these is also white/cream. But, they are freestones so they come off the pit easily. I don't have many of these, so if you want some, please plan to come early to get first pick!

See you tomorrow at the market!

At the Market This Week (7/17):

On Wednesday, I brought the first of the Red Barons to the market. For those of you who have bought peaches from me in years past, these are the ones you bought. For years these were the only peaches we had growing until the new orchard got big enough to produce peaches. They are sweet and tasty little freestones that are perfect for making cobblers, eating over the sink (!!) or making preserves.

I will also be bringing in more Big Red and Dixiland peaches to the market on Saturday. These are nice, big freestone peaches that are also sweet and juicy. Some of these varieties are really big - average about 10-12 ounces - and I will be selling these individually once again.

The peaches have passed their peak here at Bluebird Orchards, but don't fret! We should have peaches from now into August if they hang in there. It's looking good so far!

See you Saturday!

This Week at the Market:

On Saturday, I will be bringing in some more La Feliciana. These are smaller peaches than I have been bringing, but they are sweet little freestones! I'm also watching some big peaches ripen, and I hope to have more of these at the market on Saturday. They were a big hit at the market last week. Save room in the tummy for these... I weighed one at 13oz. Now that's a big peach to eat!

See you Saturday!

Celebrate July 4th with Summer's Best Fruit!

On Saturday, we will have specials on half bushels of peaches to make your festive cookouts complete! I won't know how many I'll have until I pick them tomorrow, so come early just in case.

For the market on Saturday, I will bring TexPrince, the last of the Harvesters, Suwanee, Rio Grande and maybe some La Feliciana. These peaches are all tasty, juicy and sweet. Plus, they are all freestones from here on through the rest of summer. See you on Saturday at the market!

A Bountiful Harvest

The smell coming from the trees of the Harvester variety is intoxicating. I just love the smell of ripe peaches. The Harvester peach is a freestone variety that is big, juicy and tart-sweet. This peach is full of flavor and sweetness... a true summer treat! I will be bringing more Harvesters on Saturday.

Also ripening for Saturday are some of the biggest peaches of the season. The Suwanee variety is beginning to come in and the biggest of these guys are the first to ripen. The biggest one I've picked so far is bigger than a softball. Suwanee is also a freestone peach that has a milder flavor than Harvester, but is just as sweet as can be. I am not sure how many of these I will bring for Saturday until we pick them tomorrow.

At the Market Today!

I'm posting late again, but I am bringing the last of the Galas (this time it really is the last of this one), some Harvester, TexRoyal and TexPrince. The smell in the orchard right now is incredible! There are so many varieties coming in over the next few weeks. I picked the biggest peach yet from one variety that is coming in next week. I can't believe how big it is, and it is sweet. Come to Central Park today and taste some of nature's candy!

Looking ahead to Saturday, I will be bringing in more Harvesters and perhaps some Rio Grande and Suwanee. These are all freestone varieties. As a matter of fact, all the peaches from here on are going to be freestones. It's summertime in Texas, y'all!

Demo Days at the BVFM

Sorry for the late post, but I only now finished picking for tomorrow. I will be bringing more peaches than I have all season! I picked the rest of the Galas, some Harvesters, TexRoyal and JunePrince. These peaches are all freestone or semi-freestone and they are a nice size, juicy and sweet. Come check out our great summer peaches at the market tomorrow!

Also, I will be doing a simple basketweaving demonstration at 11AM as part of the BVFM's Demo Days. There will be lots of demonstrations and cooking demos too (along with some tasting, I'm sure!) Hope to see you tomorrow!

The Royal Prince's Gala for the Harvest

In case you are confused about the title, I was trying to find a way to incorporate the names of 5 peach varieties that are due in by the end of June: TexRoyal, TexPrince, JunePrince, Gala and Harvester. Of course, Gala made its debut on Saturday. These great big peaches are juicy and sweet and as a bonus they are a semi-freestone so they release from the pit fairly easily. I've only picked about 1/4 of the peaches on these trees, so I will be bringing lots more of these guys on Wed.

Looking ahead this week, I will most likely be bringing in TexRoyal, TexPrince, JunePrince and some Harvesters to the market on Saturday. I'm hoping for a bounty of peaches! Stay tuned for an update later this week.

Big 'ol suckers!

I will be bringing the rest of the Texstars to the market on Sat (6/12). These last peaches in this variety are ripe, juicy and sweet! They will need to be eaten promptly, so be prepared!

I'm also bringing a new variety tomorrow. Gala is a large peach as you can see in the picture. I will have several for sale tomorrow that are the size of a softball (although they average a little smaller than that one!). Plus, this peach is a semi-freestone which means it releases almost cleanly from the pit (takes a little more muscle than the freestones). We’ve been eating on the “bug-approved” ones and they are sweet!

At the Market This Week:

Texstars made their debut this past weekend at the BVFM. These peaches release fairly easily from the pit, and are good for eating or using in prepared recipes like cobbler or jams/jellies. I understood these to be freestones, but they are technically referred to as semi-free. However, I’ve only occasionally run into one that doesn’t release easily. They are juicy and sweet. We will be bringing more of these to the market on Wed (June 9).

The next variety to ripen is Gala. These peaches are big like the TexKings, but sweeter and easier to release from the pit (semi-free). I'm looking forward to this one! They might not be ready this weekend, but I'm hoping they will be!

At the Market This Week:

Tomorrow (Wed. 6/2), we will be at the market under the Pavilion at Central Park in College Station from 4-7PM. We will have TexKings available at this market. These clingstone peaches are big, ripe, juicy and sweet! Come enjoy the first fruits of the summer tomorrow afternoon, and say a big hello to the Peach Man... my dad! He's kinda shy, but he knows his peaches!

On Friday, June 4, I will be set up with other vendors of the BVFM in conjunction with Art Step and First Friday in Downtown Bryan. We will be located across the street from Village Café in the parking lot of St. Andrews church. This event will last from 5-9PM. I will be there with peaches, soap and baskets. I will be bringing more TexKings and maybe even the first of the freestones (stay tuned!). Come enjoy the fun in downtown Bryan and take home some local produce and other handmade creations.

On Saturday, June 5, we will be back the market in Bryan from 8-12PM at the Health Dept parking lot (corner of Texas Ave. and Wm Jennings Bryan Pkwy). I am watching the TexStars closely… these are the first of the freestones! I believe at least some of them will be ready for picking later this week. I will post to this blog if indeed they are ready Friday or Saturday. At first taste, these are really sweet peaches - the sweetest ones yet!

The Power of Attraction

When I walk through the orchard, the fragrance is strong. The smell of ripening peaches is one of nature’s most powerful perfumes. Everyday I walk out there to test the ripeness of the peaches and I notice more and more bugs and the barking of a squirrel in nearby trees (he thinks I’m an invader!). Creatures seen and unseen come from all over, drawn by the smell of sweet peach nectar. When to pick then becomes a gamble… how long do we wait to pick them because the risk of being bitten and partially eaten by bugs, caterpillars or birds is greater the longer we wait.

These TexKings have an incredible smell and they are nice-sized, juicy and sweet although not as sweet as ones to come. I will be bringing more of these beauties to market on Saturday. However, I’m looking ahead as well because the sweetest of our varieties have yet to ripen. The freestone varieties are the most well-known and desired peaches of summer. The first of them will be available early to mid-June.

And the Season Begins...

We had a great day yesterday at the BVFM. We sold out early, which I hate because it means I didn't bring enough. But, that is always the case so early in the season. However, it's a different story this Wednesday. We will have double the quantity of peaches that we had on Saturday. Not only that - but the TexKings will be coming in.

TexKing, an A&M variety, is a clingstone peach that is large, juicy and full of flavor. As you can see from the photo, these guys are a great size and they are dripping with sweetness! This is a delicious peach.

The Wednesday market is held May-August at Central Park in College Station under the Pavilion from 4-7PM. The Saturday market is held year-round at the corner of Texas Ave. and William J. Bryan Pkwy. in Bryan.

And the Winner is...

I will be bringing Regal peaches to the farmer's market this Saturday. TexKing are not quite ready yet - probably one more week. The ripening Regal peaches held on during the 60mph gusts we had earlier this week... we were lucky! A few days later and it might have been a different story.

We have 6 trees of Regal peaches in various stages of ripening, so I won't know how many I will be bringing until I pick them on Friday. Each tree has an abundance of peaches, though. Regal is a semi-freestone variety. They are a nice size peach, and very juicy. They have a good flavor although not as sweet as some we will be bringing later on.

We have one apricot tree that is loaded so there is a chance I might be bringing in apricots, but more likely that they will ripen for next Wed.

See you at the BVFM on Saturday!

The Race to be First

Two varieties are in the running to be first from our orchard to market this season – TexKing and Regal. TexKing, created by A&M, is a clingstone peach and Regal is a semi-freestone. The early birds of each variety are already turning all shades of peachy red, and every day the change is more noticeable. We have at least one more week – probably two – before we’ll bring them to market.

First Crop Anticipated

The first crop to come in may come in sometime around Memorial weekend. These are cling peaches and they're oh so tasty! We didn't have these last year due to the late freeze, and we are hoping to see a good crop of them for the first time since we've started this orchard. As you can see in the photo, they are already good-sized but they'll be about double that size when they are ripe.

Hopes Flourish for this Season

Last year was not a good year for peaches. Although we escaped the freeze that killed peaches in Fredericksburg, our trees did not produce like we hoped. The little peach buds that began to swell shriveled for no known reason. The trees that did produce peaches were stripped clean by squirrels or deer (we're not sure which). We were so disappointed.

But hopes rise again for 2010. We have had plenty of cold weather this winter and nearly every tree is loaded with tiny peaches. We are keeping our fingers crossed that they will continue to grow, and we're putting our heads together on how to solve the squirrel issue. Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, here are some lovely photos of snow-covered peach blossoms from the February snowfall we had. This is a rare sight in Texas, but very beautiful: