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Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Neighbourhood peach tree

Word has gotten around that we like to rescue forgotten fruit around town, picking and harvesting wonderful fruit from the trees of willing neighbours, as well as trees, bushes (or the ground) on boulevards, in city parks, along hiking trails, etc...and there is a lot of fruit to be found in our city!  We've had luck finding pears, apples, cherries, grapes, saskatoon (service berries), raspberries, mulberries, and even plums - but so far did not come across anyone with a peach tree.  Today, a friend dropped by with a basket full of plump miniature peaches - perfectly sized for a child's hand.  They were tiny, oval-shaped, sweet, very fuzzy (much more than market full-sized peaches), and oh so tasty!  She sourced them from a tree growing right nearby, which a neighbour had shared with her and told her the tree was aproximately 100 years old!  Don't know if the age of the tree is correct, but it is certainly old and would then likely stand where one of the original farms in this area was.  I would love to know more about the story of this tree - who planted and cared for it, was it part of an orchard, how far does it date back?  What a great historical landmark for this neighbourhood.  Delicious - thanks for thinking of us Michelle!

1 comment:

  1. Love your site - it's so much fun finding nature's gifts. We found a quince bush in the Northdale neighbourhood while walking our dog. First time I or my husband had ever seen one.Very exciting!
    Lots of wild elderberries out behind the research and technology park too.
    My parents had a peach tree on Louisa Street back in the 1940's and they said the peaches were so heavy that they had to prop the branches up with 2x4's to keep them from breaking. I'm sure that tree is gone now, but it's tempting to try and grow one.

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