Monday 10 February 2014

Harvest Monday - 10 Feb '14

It's been a peach of a week -  not weather wise but produce wise.


The weather has been hot and horrible ( hopefully the last heatwave of the year...) but the peaches have started to ripen in earnest and the hot weather means the scent of ripening peaches fills the air.

There have been peaches for breakfast and lunch. There has been the making of peach jam- this one is a savoury jam with rosemary and black pepper.  We've sampled it already with some of our home raised lamb -  it's very good with lamb! I'm planning on  entering a jar in this week's Gundagai Agricultural Show. It might be a little weird though?


I'm also scanning the peach trees to try to find three beautiful peaches for the Fruit section of the Gundagai Show.  If I can get three that look like this one, I'll possibly enter them.


There have also been Peach Tomatoes. These are a yellow fruit with a furry skin. The flavour is quite mild but the best thing about them is that they have been good performers in the hot weather - perhaps the fury outside protects the skin of the tomato.


The other tomatoes are producing too. The pear shaped tomatoes have been particularly productive, as have the Jaune Flamme, Cherokee Purple and Verna Orange all seeds generously provided by Yvonne.


Most nights we eat a tomato salad with yellow long capsicums with our meal.

This is this morning's pick...


again peaches and tomatoes with a few small ( but very crunchy!) cucumbers, zucchini and small green capsicums. The grapes are a generous gift from our neighbours who cut all their grapes this morning and had their glut to share! Thank you folk of the river flats!

That's the Harvest for the week. I'm contributing this to Daphne's Harvest Monday. Pop over to hers to see OPP (other people's produce).

9 comments:

  1. The peaches look absolutely perfect! And it must be great to have neighbours with grape gluts :)

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    1. I am fortunate indeed! The grapes are delicious and one of my favourite things to eat on a hot day. I am crossing my fingers for three perfect peaches all the same size on Thursday morning - the day I need to take my produce to the show.

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  2. I made peach and chilli chutney recently and I think it might be nice. I'm interested in the idea of rosemary and black pepper - I reckon shock the judges and see what happens. Your tomatoes are looking beautiful. My crops have been pretty pathetic. I blame the weather and the chooks but I suspect its actually just me...

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    1. Yum, liking the sound of your chutney! I really like the rosemary and black pepper peach jam. It has real depth of flavour with the rosemary. I found the flavour idea while googling for recipes for peaches and seeing as I have a garden full of rosemary - one of the few things that grows here with no bother - it was the perfect thing to make.

      The weather has been horrible hasn't it? My garden only survives under high% shade cloth!

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  3. My peach tomato is a non-existence this year due to a disease, at least I can see what it looks like from your garden. I also like the Verna Orange's taste and I receive many positive feedback from the taste testing. I wish I can have that many peaches of your harvest, they go well with passionfruit in jam.

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    1. What a shame! I have found them late producing but very good. But I have to say that the Jaune Flamme is my favourite variety this season. Thanks again for all the wonderful seeds. It's challenged me to really try some different varieties.

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  4. Your peaches look fab! I am currently between peach trees so am very jealous. Do you dry them? Your tomato harvest looks great.

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    1. I am pretty pleased with the peaches. Right now I'm eating them fresh and making jams with them but there will come a point when I start to dry them bought a solar dehydrator and am keen to try it out at some point. The tomatoes are pretty good too - I have had a few varieties that have not really performed in this climate but that's all part of the learning isn't it? I will grow the pear-shaped ones again and Jaunne Flame and Peach but might look to other varieties next year.

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  5. Here in the UK, our peach trees are just blossoming. Having gone giddy from actually getting to eat home-grown peaches after last years 'real' summer, I'm crossing fingers, toes and eyes for another decent season of warm days and nights. I feel for your poor veggies though! Hard to imagine having too much heat over here. Hope it cools down a bit for you.

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