Houston, we have Pollination

It is looking good :) A bumper crop of apricots is on the tree.

For some reason, that sentence was underlined, and I have no idea why. It is no longer apricot torture, because I have made that decision. I will be there when they ripen, yum.
S2

Was the really a question as to whether you would go? Uncle Peter obviously needs sister time or he would be sending pictures of tomatoes rather than apricots.
G2

You're right, he wants me to come and visit. He can't can all those apricots on his own, and we haven't been on a photo safari for quite the long while.
S2

Apricot Dreams

My brother, Pete, has taken to taunting me with his apricot tree. He says this picture was taken in the future, ha ha. They really do make my mouth water, just the very thought.

He's secretly hoping that I'll come down for a visit in late June, exactly when the tree is full on and heavy with ripe fruit. He's going to put me to work, but I don't mind one bit. These apricots taste the way apricots should taste. Once you have eaten them, you'll never resort to those pallid imitations from the grocery store, ever again. Last year was a disappointing harvest...he says that he was lucky to get a handful of apricots. Between a rainy spring, bees missing in action (both causing a lack of pollination), and the squirrels, there wasn't much to go around.

Two years ago, I did go down for such a visit. The evidence is just to the left. The tree had an absolute bumper crop, and I kept Pete hopping. Between trips out to the tree for another boxful, and trips to the grocery store for more jars, or more sugar, he was every bit as busy as I was.

I think we canned 36 jars that day. I brought home a dozen, when we road tripped back to Washington. Not enough! Never enough! I go easy on the sweeteners, so the full glory of the apricot flavor wasn't covered up.

So look out, Pete, I'm coming, and Ramona is coming with me :). I have a host of friends that are already planning get togethers. Don't know how long to make this trip, but I do know that the most important part of it is to have ample canning time.

This year we'll have to find ourselves a proper water bath canner, however. Things are going to go a lot faster if we can process 7 jars at a time instead of only three (we used a vegetable steamer). I found a link for a water bath canner and everything else we would need, right here.


This be the water bath canner. It can hold 7 quart jars at one time, so it's quite large.











And this be the jar lifter. Things would have been so much easier if we'd had this, and they're not expensive. One is included in the kit above, but no need to use this particular company, or get all the stuff. It's all useful, but the two most important things are these.

Mouth-wateringly yours,
S2
PS. Up for another road trip?

Apricot Torture begins

My brother usually waits until June to torture me with pictures of his loaded apricot tree. This year he has started early :) His tree is loaded with blooms, and even better, he says that the humming of bees fills the air. Can't have a bumper crop of apricots without pollination!

I think it bodes well for the bees, too. I'm hoping the bee colonies are recovering from the virus that appeared to be injuring the hives last year.



It is true that last year, there seemed to be a real drop off in the number of bees that we noticed around our places (he's in CA, I'm in WA). And that was reflected in the smallness of his crop. The year before, I made a trip to CA, timed with the harvest, and we canned a couple of dozen quarts. Then we picked I large box of apricots, to take with us on the trip we had planned. Placing the box directly behind the AC jet in his car worked beautifully. We were able to eat almost every one of them (and I'm guessing we started with at least twenty pounds), very few were lost to spoilage. It was heavenly ~

The tree is a very old one that was once part of an orchard that covered the south San Jose hills. We have no idea what variety it is, but we sure would like to take grafts. These are the tastiest apricots imaginable. Once you have eaten them, you'll never go back to the supermarket for those pallid imitations of apricots that you will find there.

We were so lucky to grow up in the area, eating fruit right from the trees.

Photos were taken by my brother, who will no doubt be torturing me with more as the fruit matures.
S2