Peaches

[BarryBobPosthole]

Birddog gave me a couple of peach seeds from a true cultivar called 'blood peaches' or what are called sometimes 'indian peaches' around here. I ended up planting two of them that grew fast and made about a bushel last year, at least thats what the damned squirrels didn't eat. Had an excellent peach cobbler this past weekend from the ones we had frozen. Its pretty cool when you can wnjoy something that tasty and all you added was sunshine and rain and elbow grease!

BKB

[Captain]

That's pretty cool. I like planting and planning and then seeing the end results.
Good stuff

[Thumper]

My grandmother had a peach tree beside the North Carolina house and picking was my job. She'd make cobbler with the fresh peaches or just serve them sliced with cream and a light sprinkle of sugar. Then she'd can a bunch and also make jam with some of them. I can still remember working with her to set up the Mason jars. They just don't make grandma's like they used to and they're a dying breed (no pun intended). You're lucky to find a "younger" gal these days who can even cook, much less can.

There was some sort of peach tree in the front yard of my California house. I have no clue what kind it was, but the whole time I owned that house (10 years) it would have a bazillion peaches, but they never got bigger than, I don't know, a strawberry maybe? Then they'd fall off the tree. I tried eating a few, but they were SOUR ... like a green peach even though many would hang on until they acquired that "ripe" peach color. Maybe they were mature when they fell off, no clue. I tried fertilizers, etc. to no avail. The fruit was worthless IMHO, but it was one of the most beautiful trees you've ever seen when in bloom. People used to stop and get out of their cars just to take pictures of it. What was weird, I couldn't tell you how many people would actually ring my doorbell and ask permission to take pics of it! I never did understand that. It was right in the front yard, probably 10' from the city sidewalk.

[quercus alba]

Couple years ago a friend asked my wife if she'd like some peaches. She came home with three ice chests full, one was 120 qt.

Still got peaches in the freezer

[airbud7]

I remember picking blackberries in my youth for grandma so she could make a big cobbler

I can taste it now...good stuff...even better with homemade peach ice cream.

[Thumper]

Yep, I did the same. I'd literally pick buckets and buckets of blackberries as well as elderberries and my grandmother would make jelly with most of them, but I'd always get a few bowls of blackberries & cream out of the batch and sometimes a cobbler. Man-o-man, nothing like hot cobbler right out of the oven with a big ol' chunk of ice cream!

[BarryBobPosthole]

We had a couple of big blackberry patches on my parent's farm right by the old house place where my step dad was born. I never did figure why they left those that close to the house as we killed a LOT of copperheads there over the years.

As for wild stuff, huckleberries are my all time favorite wild fruit. Muscadines are a close second. We had lots of possum grapes too!

BKB

[Bwana]

While on vacation at Glacier National Park two years ago we tried huckleberries for the first time and they were good. That being said, while on a trail ride the cowgirl leading us around (she was a biology student) started pointed out various plants and what they were used for. One that she showed us was the Thimbleberry, now those suckers are AWESOME!! Would love to find me some more of those some day.

[BarryBobPosthole]

When I went caribou hunting we were in the tundra country. You have no idea just looking at that country what all is there. cranberries, strawberries, huckleberries, you name it, it was there and still had fruit in September when we were there. We typically stayed away from the berry patches as best we could though, as thats where the bears live too. And their bears ain't to be trifled with! I fished while I was there (of course) and caught artic grayling. Didn't get to eat any but they said it was a tasty fish. Also went ptarmigan hunting on that trip and I did get to eat one of those flying livers and that was enough for a lifetime.

BKB