Saturday, June 10, 2017

Early Peaches & Purple Raspberries Ripe

   This morning our workers harvested over 250 pounds of peaches, our first day of a peach harvest over 50 pounds or so.  This is two weeks earlier than the average start of peach harvest.  We have a good amount of peaches to sell now, and will have them for sale this evening and Sunday evening during our open hours (see sidebar at left) as well as mornings next week.  We're harvesting our two earliest varieties, 'Surecrop' and 'Early Redhaven'.  I give taste samples of both.
'Surecrop' peaches are very juicy with a great flavor.
   'Surecrop' is semi-freestone, meaning the flesh clings to the pit a bit until it is fully soft; when fully soft it comes clean from the pit.  'Surecrop' is very juicy with a great flavor, and is great for fresh eating and freezing, but not for canning or baking pies or cobblers.  'Early Redhaven' is freestone, so the flesh comes clean from the pit.  'Early Redhaven' is less juicy with a subdued flavor, and is good for fresh eating, freezing, canning and baking pies or cobblers.
'Early Redhaven' peaches are freestone and good for fresh eating, freezing, canning and baking pies or cobblers.
   Small amounts of peaches cost $1.30 per pound + tax.  We pick directly into 20-lb. boxes, which I then weigh to exactly 20.0 lbs., so you save $1.00 if you buy a 20-lb. box of peaches for $25.00 + tax.  We also have many nice 2nds peaches with small hail-damaged spots or other surface damage, which sell for just $0.74 per pound + tax.
Jessica (left) and Jody Neef picked two flats (16 pints) of red raspberries this morning, and plan to make jam.
   We still have many red raspberries to pick, now until about June 20.  Purple raspberries are starting to ripen heavily now.  Purple raspberries are hybrids between red and black raspberries and exhibit hybrid vigor, so produce large crops of large berries that are bigger than the berries of red or black raspberries.  Purple raspberries have their own unique taste.  We also have some black raspberries to pick, which are mainly used for making jam or pies.  We let customers taste a couple fruit of all the raspberries that they'll pick.
The Smiles family was all smiles as they picked a flat of purple raspberries this morning.  They also picked a flat of red raspberries and 2 quarts of 'Natchez' thornless blackberries.
   Harvest of our earliest thornless blackberry variety, 'Natchez', has just started, but they've been heavily picked.  They'll be more plentiful from June 26 to July 20.  'Natchez' produces very large crops of huge blackberries, so they are very easy to pick.  'Natchez' will continue ripening for the next 5 weeks or so.
   All berries are sold pick-your-own only.  Pick-your-own raspberries cost $2.08 per pint + tax.  Thornless blackberries cost $2.55 per quart + tax, pick-your-own.  We provide containers, and just ask that you return the containers to us for reuse on your next trip to Brenda's Berries.
   From June 1 to Aug. 31 we're open our summer hours, shown in the sidebar at left.  We're open 7:30 a.m. to 12 noon & 7-9 p.m. Mon.-Sat., and closed noon to 7 p.m. due to high summer heat.  We're also closed Sunday mornings for church, so on Sundays we're open 7-9 p.m. only.  If you tell others about us, please let them know our summer hours.
   Please arrive at a time that allows you enough time to finish picking by our closing time.  Thanks.  For payment, we accept cash or checks; NO debit cards or credit cards.  Please bring your checkbook or enough cash to cover what you'll buy.