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!