Of course, right after I send out an email, I get word from the farmers in California - they had a late freeze this year, and lost EVERY SINGLE peach. Ugh! I was SO looking forward to those peaches. At least we still have the Utah peaches. Let me know if you'd like some.
So, no O'Henry peaches. But, we have the Elbertas. :) Such is life on the farm, I guess.
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Alright, alright! Enough already about the peaches!! You guys are just chomping at the bit for some BIG, fat, juicy peaches, huh? Well, let me tell you, we've got our first variety ready for ya!! Remember how I told you that I sell two different varieties? So, let me tell you a little about each and you can tell me what you want. The first one is the Elberta - this is the one I am taking orders for right now. These come from Utah, and they are a freestone variety. They are a large, yellow-fleshed fruit that is known as one of the great canning peaches. They are $25 for a 20 pound box and will be ready over the next couple of weeks. They also offer seconds for $18 (which are peaches with blemishes, a couple underripe, etc. - great for jams, purees, and leather!) Please let me know if you'd like this one.
The other variety I get is an O'Henry peach - they are smaller than the Elbertas, but are so sweet and juicy that I have to offer them too. They come from California, are also a freestone variety, and have yellow flesh with a pink center. These are not known as a canning peach, but I have canned them and they retained their shape well, and had great flavor. Last year, these were 23-25 pound boxes for $17, although I have not heard what their prices are for this year. I will keep everyone posted on this - their peaches should be ready at the end of August as well.
I do NOT have an organic variety offered for this year - the one that we offered last year did not live up to standards, and since then, I am looking around for an organic farm, but will be trying their peaches before I set up an order. If any of you have any ideas as far as where to try finding one, let me know. I'll keep looking too, and hopefully, we'll find one for next year.
This is a GREAT opportunity to be able to preserve some fruit for your food storage. We've had plenty going on recently to suggest that prices of food might increase. Our economy is struggling. Some of us with jobs now may not have jobs later. Preserving peaches is a great way to feel secure about working on your food storage. I encourage all of you to try to preserve at least some of your order(I know, I know - I'm pulling out all of my peach recipes, too!) Let me know if you would like a class on preserving peaches - also, let me know if you are willing to teach others. I will pass on the word, and hopefully, we can work on this together.
Also, for those of you that have ordered the raw honey for this year and haven't sent your payments, please send a separate check for your honey and your peaches. Easier for me to keep track. :) If you can't, don't worry about it.
Any questions? Let me know.
Elizabeth Kay [poohnda(at)hotmail(dot)com]
