In our backyard we have an ancient Blenheim apricot tree. As you can see in the photos, it’s amazing that the tree doesn’t simply fall over. The base of the trunk is almost completely gone. Although I do have a redwood planter propped up against part of the tree, I can remove the planter without affecting the angle of the tree. I leave it there as backup support so we can maybe get an extra year or two out of the tree.
Not only has this very old tree remained standing, but it also still produces a great bounty of delicious apricots every three years. Our tree seems to go through a three year cycle of almost no fruit, a moderate amount of fruit, and then lots of fruit. Until I tasted the fruit of this tree, I thought apricots were terrible.
The harvest time for Blenheims is incredibly short. Unfortunately, the birds, squirrels, and bugs will gladly start eating the fruit while it is still quite green. As soon as the green tinge is gone or mostly gone, I have to harvest the fruit as quickly as possible, or the animals will take them all within just a few days. I was lucky this year to get most of the fruit. Harvesting the apricots is made even more difficult because the fruit has a very thin skin and is easily bruised.
A 50 point bonus goes to the first person to identify the reference in the title of this post.
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