I would have to disagree regarding cutting them down. It takes quite a few years to grow a peach tree to that size. They are fast-growing and early-fruiting, which is part of their downfall, however the root structure is more developed and can hopefully push new growth faster. If I were you I'd remove everything, leaving just the last branch, as peaches do not push new growth on the trunk like most other trees. This will hopefully give the tree a jump-start. If it doesn't work then so be it, but if it does you'll have plenty of fruit next year. The new shoots will have to be trained, but then you can remove the remaining old branch and trim to your liking. If you have room then plant a couple more of different cultivars, or maybe something different like pie cherries.

We live in a Philly Suburb and our local granite & marble shop charged us I believe $100 or $150 (can't quite remember) to cut and finish 6 marble sills. The cuts and polish were lengthwise of the sill and were used for our shower curb and niche pieces. Our shop would not "warranty" the work...saying that they were cutting into stone that they didn't supply and were not sure where it was sourced from, quality etc. Basically they said that cheaper marbles from china break easily. We got the sills from Lowes so I am sure it was cheap marble from China and we didn't pay too much for the sills and it was lots cheaper than having them make matching calacatta marble sills for us (they supplied our calacatta marble counter...but that cost us $200/sq ft). It was a risk we were willing to take and it turned out perfect. Good luck.

I am looking for granite fabricator that would cut off my cooktop cut out. In other words I want to replace my drop in cook top (electric) with a gas stove. I need 4 cuts of 2.5 " each. The counter cannot be moved. I am close to Boston. Any suggestion on a great fabricator that would do repair work? Thanks

Samantha, the rules for catering differ from place to place. Where I live, rather than having confusing different rules, they pretty much don't allow home kitchens for any kind of cooking/baking that will be sold to the public. Anything more than maybe a small time bake sale or bid-a-basket has to be done in a commercial kitchen. Wood is a great surface for prep. Proper cleaning in a commercial establishment is different from a home kitchen, however. At the end of the day, in a commercial kitchen, all of the surfaces are cleaned with heavy duty cleansers, and during the day, after each task, they're supposed to be cleaned as well. The daily cleaning is top down, with the upper surfaces cleaned, the counters, the lower shelves and surfaces, then the floor. How many times have you heard horror stories about commercial kitchens where that didn't happen? I've done some catering in a shared commercial kitchen where there was a cleaning crew. Too many times, we'd come in and have to clean before we could start cooking, to meet standards. It wasn't any worse than many residential kitchens--probably why the crew thought it was okay--but we wouldn't work in that environment. So... Your gov't safety office or health dept. is trying to set standards for home catering. They can say, "wood counters must be scrubbed in XYZ manner and thoroughly dried before food prep can take place". And you're drying your counter and totally miss where the kids have put their boots on the counter and brushed off the evidence. Plastic cutting boards can be disinfected in the dishwasher. Wood cutting boards can be scrubbed down in the sink and left to dry vertically, away from said boots. They do have to be hard dry to keep the bacteria from growing. Most people can tolerate a lot of contamination. That's the whole point of the body's immune system. You don't know, when you're catering, who is going to eat your food. There could be someone with a compromised immune system, the very old and very young, who are more sensitive, etc. It's hard enough accounting for unknown allergies, and making sure to point out and label things appropriately. Standard food labelling rules don't require an ingredient to be listed if it is only a trace amount. That's why the newest rules require listing of common ingredients or contaminants (from shared equipment) that may cause allergies, even if they're only in trace amounts (e.g., "contains: milk") Being extra vigilant with food safety, however, is a must. As a professional, you have to control that which is in your power. It's also a good idea to have different color/composition cutting boards for each kind of food: meat, poultry, vegetables/fruits, and baked goods all have different requirements for storage and cleaning. Using the different boards really helps prevent cross contamination. In theory, an installed wood top could be used just for vegetables, but there's still the issue of accidental contamination. Like, what if you put the grocery bag down on the island and the chicken leaks? Or the boots. Or whatever. There really is no situation where a multi-use surface, like a home kitchen counter, should be used for commercial prep. OTOH, in a normal, healthy family, accidental contamination of the cutting surface, a missed spot on the scrub down, a cutting board run quickly under warm water and detergent and not dried, etc., is probably no problem at all, and, in fact, might provide the challenge that an immune system needs to continue to be healthy. Residential catering can be done safely, but it does take a certain level of diligence. BTW, this is a reason why "personal chefs" are popular here. Unlike make and take catering, personal chefs bring ingredients into the hosts' home and prepare the food there. My understanding is that a meal cooked in the home is considered home cooking for most purposes, unless there is an egregious violation on the part of the chef.