On 7/22/2008 4:55 AM, FarmI wrote [in part]:
"David E. Ross" wrote [also in part]:

It's been 52 days since our last measurable rain, and we normally won't
see rain again until late October or sometime in November. We had a
total of 12.35 inches (31.4 cm) since last September. Last year, by
this time, we had 4.57 inches (11.6 cm).

That is very low rainfall. My husband say's that the Napa valley reminded
him very much of Australia. Depending on how close that is to you, you
might have similar growing conditions to mine.

The Napa Valley is about 500 miles north of me. We get hotter summers
with less humidity.

I assume from your mention of reservoirs that you are on a municipal water
supply?????

Yes. Wells in my area produce undrinkable water. Ground water is so
highly mineralized that it really is not good even for irrigation unless
it's mixed with imported water from the California Water Project (the
state reservoirs).

So do you get leaf curl? And if you don't, do you put that down to the
early spring feed or your spay program, or could be either or both?

Some years, I do get some leaf curl. It's never enough to defoliate the
tree. I attribute the low incidence (the lack this year) to spraying.

I picked the last of the crop last night. The bees and wasps got quite
a few. The problem is that the season is quite short; they all ripen at
the same time.

Once they are picked, they are quite perishable. If not eaten quickly,
they rot. That's because they are tree-ripened (not like the junk sold
in the markets).

My wife did make a delicious peach crisp (more like a cobbler). And I
gave away more than a dozen. I trade my peaches for my neighbors'
tomatoes and figs.

Do you can them at all?

I used to preserve my peaches in brandy. Take a large, old fashioned
canning jar (the type with a glass lid, rubber ring, and wire bail).
Blanch the peaches in boiling water just long enough to remove the skin.
Quarter or halve the skinned peaches and remove the pits. Pack the
peach pieces in the canning jar. Add about a tablespoon of cloves,
intermixed with the peaches. Pour about 1/2 cup of sugar on top of the
peaches. Fill the jar with cheap, off-brand brandy. Seal the jar.

Let the peaches soak in the brandy for about six months, inverting the
jar about every two weeks. Enjoy!!

No sterilizing the jars. No hot water bath. No cooking. No
refrigeration.

Note: The peaches at the very top and bottom may discolor. This is
because, as the jar is inverted, they are exposed to the small amount of
air in the jar. This discoloration does not affect the edibility or
taste of the peaches.

I know someone who did the same with plums and vodka and with apricots
and rum, omitting the cloves in both cases.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/