Three trees is probably two too many, they all came ready at once on the weekend. I think everyone else in the district may have them in their back yard too because I can't even give them away. Skatey takes about 6 to school everyday, the other children maybe have one a day. I collected as many as I had the time and patience to deal with and got the dehydrator out in desperation, the other kids seem to like them better dried anyway, they will probably only last a few weeks dried unless I hide some. If I lived closer to my brother I would go to his house to dehydrate, he creates his own electricity with a water wheel and windmill. He has so much power he's thinking of building a heated pool.May be one day he'll come and create free energy for me!!
Other things we have done with them is put them into fruit muffins, make a peach chutney, bottle them in syrup, stew them and freeze.Maybe I should try a little wine making or brandied peaches....
Anyway Black boy peaches, so easy to grow form seed (stone), almost disease free, low maintenance - just give a winter and summer prune. Plant comfrey underneath.
Walah, fruit in 3-4 years.
I have plenty of seedlings if anyone wants one.
28 comments:
hello...
I am Portuguese and adored yours blog.
your garden is fantastic, and some of the plants that i see for there, do not exist this here, as the purple sweet potatoes, are yellow and orange here. very interesting. I liked very. The peaches are beautiful, interesting process of conservation.
Would they grow in Dunedin?
Hey Rhys, I don't see any reason why they wouldn't grow down there as the tree of course is dormant in winter. The tricky bit might be frost killing the flower buds. Do other peaches grow down there and fruit OK? If so it would be worth giving one of these a try. Have a nosey round the nieghbours gardens or check out the local farmers market to see if anyone else is getting them to fruit.
XX
Might have to give it a shot. Although I'm nowhere as good a gardner as you.
I'll ask mum to send some seedlings down, if that's OK.
Sounds great Rhys, I have quite a large one if they are visiting you or smaller ones for posting. Gardening is mostly trial, error and observation. Picking peoples brians comes in handy too. :)
Hi Gilly, I'd be keen to try a seedling or two - happy to pay costs if postable to Waiheke? C
I can't imagine having too many peach trees ;-) You could plant spare seedlings in the country or town, guerilla garden style.
I air dried some peaches last month, but I'm in Central where it's pretty dry. I've also been making peach ice cream.
Are you planting the stones in potting mix or soil? Clean and straight from the peach, or is it ok to dry them for a bit?
cheers,
lus.
Just realised you are in Mot. Can you not air dry fruit there? Maybe it's a bit late in the year.
I don't think the frosts would be a problem growing in Dunedin (peaches grow in Central with heavy frosts, it's a timing thing I think), but it might not get warm enough for them to ripen. You'd have to pick your spot. Ask at the Otepoti Urban Organics forum.
Thanks for the ideas. I've planted a few peach seedlings at public places but the concil came in and cleared everything. Not giving up on that idea, will have to just find some more far flung public lands. The seedlings I have sprout under the tree so I guess the stone is better planted fresh with rotting fruit and leaves around it.
oh, good, I have a bowl of peaches I kept aside for seed, nicely rotting down. What's the ground like under the tree? I know someone who gets apricot seedlings in their garden and I think it's because the trees are in the part of the garden that gets cultivated alot (rather than a traditional orchard with grass under it).
The ground underneath use to be a rose garden, now there are a few prennial herbs, the soil is wormy and light, pretty moist during winter too.
Thanks Gill :-)
enjoyed your blog going to try to grow blackboys myself.A new gardener so hope it works.How long is the fruiting time
Hi, Thanks for your comment. I'm not very good with timelines. They flower in spring around about the same time as the golden queen peaches, after early plums and apricots I think. We finished them late March. Good luck with your garden.
TO THOSE WHO WANTED SEEDLINGS. I WILL SEND WHEN THE TREES HAVE DROPPED THEIR LEAVES BECAUSE THEY WILL HAVE THE BEST CHANCE OF SURVIVAL WHEN DORMANT. I'LL BE IN TOUCH AROUND THAT TIME RE POSTAGE.
Hi Gillybean,
I was searching the net for rare peach trees when I came across your fascinating description and pictures of Black Boy peaches. My family and I live in the USA. We grow fruit trees and are planning to start a small new orchard in the fall of this year. I would be willing to pay you for a few Black
Boy peach pits if you could send them to me. My wife and children and I would be excited to try growing some of these trees.
Thanks,
Troy
Hi Troy, I tried to email you but you havn't made your profile public. I'd be more than happy to send peach pits to you but I very much doubt that they'd get to you. Here in NZ we have to apply for a licence to import any sort of plant material and I'm pretty sure your border security would be just as strict if not more so. Send me an email if you think it's worth a try.
I would love to buy some seed of your "Black Boy" peach
namtoo@gmail.com
Just wanted to add that I discovered these when I came to NZ.
They're outwardly ugly, furry-looking things AND THE BEST PEACHES I'VE EVER HAD!
Hello Gillybean,
I can vouch that Black Boy peaches are absolutely delicious too. My father grew them at home in Christchurch when we were growing up in the 1950's and 60's. We had 3 trees, one flourishing in the 3 feet between the garage and fence. They had big crops and didn't seem to need any special care. When my parents moved to Wellington in 1969 he took stones and grew them there in Karori. Then brought stones back to Chch when they returned in 1985 - one grew ok and had fruit but I think did not do so well. My brother also took stones to Melbourne, planted them and had a good tree, but since chopped down.
Mum would bottle them - beautiful deep purple colour - and I think even made Black Boy peach jam which was pretty good. But the piece de resistance was she peeled and sliced them when ripe, put them in a bowl, covered them with sugar and let it soak in for a few hours. Then we'd eat them for dessert with whipped cream! Utterly and absolutely mouthwateringly delicious.
Wish we could get them here in Australia where I've lived for 30 years.
Bruce Rankin
Very sorry to hear of the earthquake!
Hope you were not personally affected.
Best wishes!
We have a beautiful black boy peach tree here in Christchurch and every year about this time I harvest them. They are much loved by my visitors in pies, sponges and for breakfast with cereal. They are so easy to preserve. I cut them in half, take out the stone and plunge them into a pan of boiling water, cook until just tender..not soft, then put them into preserving jars and top up with boiling water and then put seal on and tighten lid. I do not use any sweetener when preserving as this can be done before eating. Just wonderful fruit which keeps us going all through the year!
Hi, we have a black boy peach tree in our garden and this year there hasn't been one single peach on it. Do you know if they get too old or need to be pruned. I hope we haven't lost it.
To anybody wanting to grow one in the south. I’ve got a good sized blackboy peach tree in Timaru. Every year we have a late frost after the fruit has set and the tree produces heaps.
Preserving, I am a fanatic about how. I skin them all, by blanching them, then remove the stone. I boil up the skins and any bits to produce a dark liquid, add sugar (the purple syrup tastes great by itself). Then preserve the fruit halves in this syrup. Ending up with a couple of dozen 2 quart jars.
The also grow great from these stones after being blanched. I always feel guilty when I dig hundreds of peach sprouts back into the garden every year.
Hi
Just wondering what cost your BB peach stones or seedlings are please...and how much would it cost to send to Rotorua. Many thanks...Nat
Hi Natalie, we have sold our property, so I no longer have a great supply of peaches. However my friend Melissa bought the place and she might be able to provide you with peach stones. If you look on my sidebar, her blog is "5 in a bed" you should be able to find her contact details there. Thanks and good luck. - Gill
thanks...
preserved blackboy peaches and cream,can't get any better bill
Your Blackboy peaches are just now being mentioned on the BBC Gardeners Question time. We have a peach tree here in Yorkshire , but this year the blackbirds discovered it so there are only a few left to mature. I have a dehydrator - thin cut mushrooms are wonderful in it. Margaret Watson
Post a Comment