The end of peach season is near, and if you’re not ready to let them go gentle into that good night, there’s still time to freeze enough fresh peach slices to carry you through till next season. Start with ripe peaches. Skins have to come off first, which can be easily done by blanching—cut an “x” on the bottom of each peach, and pop them into boiling water for 30 seconds followed by an ice bath. Use a paring knife on one corner of the “x” and pull the skin off.
Cut the peaches in half, remove the pit, and slice each half into wedges. Toss the slices in a bowl with a tablespoon of lemon juice per pound of peaches to keep them from browning. Put the slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze them for about four hours. Once frozen, put the slices into plastic zip-top freezer bags, making sure to remove as much air as possible to prevent freezer burn, and stack the bags in the freezer. Then rest easy knowing fresh peaches are just a thaw away on a winter’s day.
www.carlsonorchards.com
Pick-your-own Ginger Gold, Gala, and Honeycrisp apples; check Facebook for other varieties that may be ready by the weekend; cut-your-own sunflowers and zinnias. Available in the store are peaches and nectarines; Ginger Gold, Gravenstein, and Honeycrisp apples; cut flowers; and locally grown corn and other vegetables.
Store is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily; pick-your-own is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m
www.doeorchards.com
Pick-your-own yellow freestone peaches and Honeycrisp, Gravenstein, Gala, McIntosh, Ruby Mac, and Ginger Gold apples. There are some ripe apples on some of the other trees, such as Cortland, and customers are welcome to try picking them. The ripe ones will come off the tree easily. All of the pick-your-own apple varieties are available on the stand, along with peaches in quart and half-bushel boxes, as well as B-grade peaches for cooking or canning.
Stand and pick-your-own hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
www.goodspiritsfarm.com
At the self-service farmstand this week: Organically grown raspberries, pears, Concord grapes, field tomatoes (heirloom varieties), tomatillos, zucchini, pattypan squash, kale, collards, New Zealand spinach, Swiss chard, butternut and honeynut squash, and fresh herbs, including basil. Also available at the stand are the farm’s own honey, berry jams (including raspberry, peach, strawberry-peach, blueberry, and blackberry), flower bouquets, herbal teas, lavender hand cream, lip balm, chicken and duck eggs from Harvard’s Goose and Hen farm, and chicken eggs from Chip-In farm in Bedford.
Stand is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
www.oldfrogpondfarm.com
Pick-your-own organic apples Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pick-your-own raspberries Wednesdays through Sundays, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. At the self-service farmstand on the porch: certified organic fruit and vegetables, including bagged apples, fresh-pressed unpasteurized apple cider, cherry tomatoes, fingerling potatoes, garlic, their own herbal teas, nettle salt, and calendula oil, as well as raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, shiro plum, peach, and Asian pear jams.
Stand is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
www.westwardorchards.com
Pick-your-own apples are available now, with McIntosh, Cortland, and Macoun as the recommended trees to pick from. Available in the store: Westward’s McIntosh, Cortland, Macoun, Honeycrisp, Gala, and Ginger Gold apples, Red Bartlett pears, yellow and white peaches, nectarines, mixed plums, watermelons, cantaloupes, regular, heirloom, and cherry tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, corn, kale, broccoli, carrots, eggplant, summer squash, zucchini, peppers, beets, collard greens, cabbage, leeks, potatoes, shallots, and mixed herbs.
Store is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; pick-your-own is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
—Compiled by Joan Eliyesil