BY LIZ LONETTI
The fruit harvest in my backyard is over for the summer, but I’m still enjoying all the wonderful peaches, apricots, apples and other delights from my freezer! Peaches are one of my favorite fruits. Nothing is quite like a homegrown peach – they’re juicer and more flavorful than anything I ever purchased at the store, and perfect to use in all sorts of wonderful recipes. Though summer’s bounty may be harvested, now is the perfect time to plan for planting fruit trees this fall.
If you are interested in growing your own peaches, choose a variety that will do well in your area. Here in the desert we need to choose fruit that can grow through our brutally hot summers and mild winters. Many of the fruit trees we enjoy are deciduous trees, meaning they drop their leaves in winter and go dormant through the winter months. Amazingly, it is more important to consider the winter cold than the summer’s heat here. “Chill hours” is a term used by growers to determine how much cold will be necessary for a given tree’s dormancy period as measured in time below 45 degrees. By contacting your local extension office, you can find out how many chill hours your region typically gets and then make your fruit tree selection accordingly. Phoenix gets a range of chill hours, between 250 and 400, depending on where in town you live. Looking for trees on the lower end of that spectrum will mean better fruit production. If you pick a tree with more chill hours than your area allows, that tree may never successfully bear fruit!
Another point to consider is the type of pit or stone in the fruit. There are two broad categories, free stone or cling stone. Like they sound, a free stone style has an easily removable pit, where a cling stone would need to be cut out of the fruit. Depending on what you plan to do with the fruit, the type of stone may be important.
After the fruit starts to ripen, you will only have a matter of days to get your harvest in before your local bird population will start to do the job for you! Some backyard orchardists have success with hanging old CDs from tree branches. The dancing reflections can startle the birds and keep them away. Some growers will put paper bags over the fruit, and some don’t mind a couple of peck holes from birds here and there. No matter your preference, you can only eat so many peaches, and when the time comes, you should be prepared with a plan to handle the bounty. After stuffing myself with fresh fruit, giving some to the neighbors and baking a couple pies, there is still a lot left to either can or freeze.
Freezing is one of my favorite methods for preserving the fruit. I take my free stone peaches, cut them in half and remove the pits. Keep the skins on. Next, I lay them on a tray in a single layer and put in the freezer until they’re frozen solid. After your peaches feel like small hockey pucks, slide them into a plastic bag and vacuum seal it to minimize moisture loss and freezer burn. Another option is to double bag in resealable freezer bags and use a straw to suck out as much air as you can. You can also freeze the fruit whole, but you will need to defrost the peach to remove the pit.
Each year, the Valley Permaculture Alliance holds a Fruit Tree Sale offering tested and proven varieties of trees. For more information, please visit valleypermaculturealliance.org.
Liz Lonetti is the Executive Director of the Valley Permaculture Alliance
Favorite Peach Smoothie
2-4 peaches, depending on size
½ cup of your favorite variety yogurt
Optional to use agave nectar and plain yogurt
1 cup soy or rice milk, add more to achieve desired consistency
Splash of vanilla extract
Place all ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend to desired consistency.
