Jerry, how long do you keep peaches in boiling water for blanching? Do you put peaches in cold water or ice after that?
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Sarah,
That Saturn graft did not do anything the year it was grafted. Last year, it grew vigorously. No surprise it set a lot of fruit this year. I admit. i left a bit too many donuts on the trees. They were so cute 
Ernieās Chice (1) and Gold Dust grafted last year set peaches (5-6). Peaches are precocious.
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Good suggestion, I will make a batch with cinnamon
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I used to be religious about going as close to the 30 seconds that most places Iāve read about blanching recommend, but Iāve learned that if the peach is slightly under-ripe 30 seconds wonāt be enough so Iāll go 45 to 45+ on some of those that were lower/smaller peaches that were slightly less ready to be processed. And even then, often youāll find yourself using a knifeā¦
A guy should just let them all get the required ripeness on the counter I suppose prior to processing, but sometimes you just have to get things done!
The 30 seconds is about perfect for ripe ones though.
And yes, Iām taking them out of the hot water with a slotted spoon and then dropping them in a bowl of cold water. I used to bother with ice and all, but I could never have enough ice on hand and I found that the water from my well is plenty cold enough. I just change it out when it gets less than cold, which turns out to be about every other batch of 10-13 peaches I can get in the pot.
As an aside, like most do I also cut an X on the blossom end to allow the water to loosen the skin some, but Iāve found that on those slightly less than ripe peaches if I try to remove the skin from the little āxā Iāve made, that itāll begin to rip the flesh of the peach and eventually the skin will tear and Iāll have knife in hand cutting off the remainder. Butā¦, if I start removing the skin from the stem end, even if itās a bit harder to do it often leaves a still smooth peach rather than tearing at the flesh. Itās almost as if the peach has a āgrainā like a piece of oak wood or something. Anyway, just something to try if youāre into a peach processing operation 
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I know there was a 16.5F frost in mid-April last year which killed a lot of flowers. I donāt remember how much set I got from each tree, but what little there was got eaten by animals for the most part. I donāt think I got to eat any WR last year, but that doesnāt make it special (you know youāre getting older when last year is hard to rememberā¦). I do recall it being my first peach to bloom, but it is well after apricots, so I donāt think it is that much more susceptible than other peaches.
Iāll need to get back to you in a couple weeks. I just sampled one which I picked a few days ago and it isnāt ready yet. 9-10 brix and crunchy. I checked the forums and the last time I posted about it was 2015, when I picked it about a week after now. One was a 3" peach, which was 12 brix and reasonably tasty. That makes me think it wonāt be high-brix, but it needs to get above where it is now.
It does have a very pretty red/white flesh color.
I didnāt pay much attention. Unless the leaves are truly hideous, I donāt think I would notice. I just went out and compared the leaves on several peaches in the area. WR has reasonably clean leaves, though there are a few holes. You can see a few in the above picture with the fruit. On nearby Encore and Early Crawford, there are quite a few more holes. Carolina Gold is similar to WR. Carnival and Heath Cling look even cleaner, but they are in a more complete sun location which may help.
No, I hadnāt noticed. Brown rot and bug damage are the main things Iāve been worried about- the other stuff doesnāt seem to make the peaches inedible Though I suppose it matters more for those who are selling them.
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Thank you very much for the detailed explanation!
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I did four batches of Jam today. This thread made me want to try peach jam. I bought a bunch from the store seeing mine arenāt rip yet. They all were very ripe and they were going to go bad if I didnāt use them so I made two pints. I added dash of cinnamon and nutmeg too. It tasted great! the one jar is just a regular jar that I didnāt process. That one is getting eaten right away. I also made Blackberry, black raspberry, and red raspberry.
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looking Good.I will add cinnamon to peach jam too. might try add ginger as well
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Iāll try some ginger next time. It will be gone in no time and Iāll have ripe peaches soon. I have so much spice. I bought one pound and half pound bags of spices from nuts.com. Iām ready for desert. Iām cooking a pot roast right now with potatoes from the garden, and some green beans from the garden too.
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Nuts.com is one of my favorite sites for spices as they sell so much in bulk theyāre always fresh! Their prices for black and walnuts is very good.
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That is AWESOME!!! (And your jam looks right tasty! 
)
Ya know, I was thinking about all the peach discussion threads here while doing up a bunch of green beans this afternoon. (I jacked my knee up so Iām kinda home bound for a day or so)
Anyway, it occurred to me how peach pros like Olpea, Alan, Fruitnut, Scott, Blueberry, and so on - and so forth, probably sit back and shake their collective heads at the level of excitement and delight that those of us with a ton less exposure to peaches will exhibit when things go right.
I mean I canāt even imagine how many peaches, or how many different varieties some of the seasoned veterans have seen, grown, eaten, etc. I guess theyāve probably seen more peaches drop on the ground than most of us will harvest in a lifetime!
Glad you guys are here, and equally glad you graciously bite your tongues form time-to-time as us giddy newbieās prattle on
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Mrs. G.,
Canāt wait for my PF24 C to ripen. Although I lost about 65 when one branch broke, I still have a lot on this 6-7 years old tree. Fruit are turning color. By the end of this month, they should ripen.
Then, Autumn Star will ripen some time in Sept.
I will study all the peach recipes getting ready for my peaches ( do I just jinx it?)
Me too- I cut up 4 pounds of the very ripe Loring peaches. They were ripe enough that I was able to peel a lot of them without blanching- I just used a knife for the stubborn ones. Most had some defects (rot spreading from a peck or wasp hole, etc), so I had to trim 20-50% of each peach off.
4 pounds of peaches
2 pounds of sugar
1 pack of SureJell
I donāt normally use pectin, so this jam is firmer than Iām used to. I probably could have made 50% more with the same jam pack. Or, I could have added some currants and left out the pectin, but then I felt like I wouldnāt be giving peach jam a fair chance to stand on its own. I went with the āsmushing themā approach, rather than cutting them up into cubes.
Results:
Iāve already had some on greek yogurt and it was pretty good. I donāt think Iāll have trouble finishing it in the late winter when the black currant jam is gone (BC is still better).
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I used the tool for making pie pastry for cutting in the flour to cut up the peaches inside the pan. It worked well for me. I donāt have a potato masher. I use the beaters for that.
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We got rain yesterday and today.grey mold grows faster than I imaged. Peaches drop off from the tree. So I have to picked all peaches before them drop. I made 8 pint Mason jar of peach jam with cinnamon. Jam has very nice aroma. I am going to make more peach jam and trying different spices.
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No jinx!
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I wanted to add a lot of peaches too. I only have three right now. But after the huge harvest on PF Lucky 13 Iām rethinking this. Itās not the greatest peach, mild, low acid for a yellow. But prepping about 100 of them last night for freezing, I realized I donāt need more. They are so clean, no rot at all, not even one spot. And they taste fantastic. Iām sure others are better, but I can live with this and I feel satisfied. I donāt have a desire to taste every type anymore. This L13 tree is filling my needs just fine. I will try and graft a few more varieties for fun. Iām not that good at grafting, still learning even after 3 years. If nothing comes of the grafts no big deal. Iām just looking for a few good varieties of stone fruit and I will be happy. I think I have enough plums and pluots now too.
My favorite part about gardening is enjoying and cooking with what I grow. I try to use at least one thing from the garden every day. I have room for more grafts, but no great loss if they do not take. Iāll be asking for peach scion this winter.
No, I never made peach jam, but for the first time I used spices in jam. I grew some Thai basil, it has a licorice flavor. I added some to red currant jam and it worked very well. Accenting the currant taste not overwhelming it. It came out great. I can see using this on baked dessert goods, just sprinkled on. I now want to try other spices too.
@Moley has used a lot of spices in jam, maybe he can suggest something for peach jam?
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Iowa,
Iāll admit it isnāt as fun for me as some of the harvests the first few years when I just had a few trees in my backyard. Or, when I experienced my first successful grafts.
Most of the time during harvest, if I have lots of peaches and customers, itās a constant race to keep folks from waiting, so it feels more like a busy cashier than anything. So itās a lot about just trying to keep up. Most of the time I look at the orchard through the perspective of all the work Iām behind on (i.e. weeds that are getting out of control, pruning which needs to be done, etc).
Butā¦occasionally (in a good year - not like this year) I have time to take customers back in the orchard to allow them to pick their own peaches, if I have time. I drive them on the tailgate of my truck and in a good year there is so much fruit, on the trees and ground, while driving down one of the rows that most customers have never seen anything like it. It probably sounds weird, but I enjoy it in a surrogate sort of way, through their enthusiasm. Most of the time, the customers are even a bit excited to ride on the back of the tailgate.
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Are you about done for the season or do you still have a lot of fruit out there?
I got a little bit of that this year as well. I have a couple of examples:
In '14 I planted a Redhaven at a friends place along with a Montmorency cherry.
I tend them as if they were mine, and every time I mix up spray or prune Iāll go do his trees too.
This year they were able to harvest about 150 peaches and they were so pumped about it, it was unreal. They went on and on about how they were the best peaches theyād ever eaten. The couldnāt hold back enough to freeze any, just ate them all fresh between them, their two late teen boys and their girlfriends, and her brother and a neighbor.
His wife said after they gave some to her brother and they all had peach juice running down their chins that he now wants to plant two of the Redhavenās next year, and they want to plant one more as well!
I told them we could think about planting a variety that ripens before or after RH to extend their season. They werenāt sure about that however, just kinda thinking nothing could possible be equal to the RH they just finished devouring
So it was extremely gratifying to me that they are well pleased and had a successful first harvest.
Similarly, Iād ordered a couple peaches in for my Nephew, and had given him a young Redhaven that I had to dig up and move. I also spray his trees and this year all three of his trees had at least some peaches (none more than about 15).
They had us over us over for coffee and desert last night, and he was showing me three of the PF17ās he still had. They were just raving about them, again I got to hear how it was the juiciest and sweetest peach theyād ever eaten
Itās a good feeling when people are so pleased with the end result.
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