We have a 3-N-1 peach tree grafted with 2 types of white peaches and 1 nectarine.

We hardly get any nectarines but always get a good harvest of peaches.

You’re supposed to thin the peach crop when they’re still very tiny to maximize the nutrients and room on the branch so the peaches will be bigger and better. Unfortunately I wasn’t as thorough as I should have been this spring so our little tree is overloaded with fruit.

Still, I can’t wait to eat them all!

So it’s been a long, chilly, rainy spring. Then BOOM just like that we get a week of sweltering, humid, hot summer weather.

My garden veggies aren’t exactly flourishing but everything is growing crazily all over the place. It’s a chaotic garden full of life: thorns, bees, snails (damn them), flowers, scents, humming birds, toads, weeds, ants and unpruned everything.

My grape vines are throwing lengthy tendrils toward the roof and the sweetpeas grew 8ft tall this year. My tomato plants are all sort of squat and short like Danny DeVito but at least each one has a few green fruit growing on it. The lavender is going nuts but for some reason many of the flower stalks are leaning to the side. I’m not sure why, could a bunch of fat bees tilted the stalks to the ground when they landed on them?

My multigrafted apple and peach trees are full of fruit which is very exciting. I didn’t put a net over the trees like I had for a few years running and so far the squirrels are being a bit more respectful than they have in the past. I’m willing to share the harvest but drew the line when they started ransacking the trees every day, taking a single bite to check for ripeness, then throwing the green fruit everywhere.

‘Cause buddy, you may be cute but DON’T MESS WITH MY FRUIT!

Purchased these at the Farmers Market last weekend from Carolina of
CMB Sweets. She concocts these fruit jams & butters in her SF studio apartment.

For $3 per 4oz jar I had to try everything she had on hand. Each one tastes uniquely of the the fruit they’re made of.

Clockwise from the top, there’s vanilla-pear butter, apple-honey butter, pomegranate jelly, raspberry jam, olallieberry jam & in the center is apricot jam.

They’re totally scrumptious on french toast, biscuits, yogurt, vanilla ice cream, crackers and more.

If you don’t see Carolina @ your local farmers market you can always place your order online @ http://www.cmbsweets.com