Nectarines just better

This is interesting but somewhat mysterious. I’m eating extremely delicious Carene nects from my orchard right now that don’t top 16 brix. They don’t need to be sweeter for me. Once peaches or nects top 15 that’s enough sugar for my palate, but to reach the levels you report (and the photos sure support it) seems strange for this early. I assume that location is experiencing true drought.

Honey Royale is a late ripening nectarine and the only one I’ve ever grown that got the brix you are finding in the NJ donut. It ripens here in late Aug and should still be green golf balls in the trees- even down there, so I wouldn’t make too much of what that orchard is calling their varieties (unless Adams County Nursery sold me something else under the name). They probably don’t bother to let fruit get ripe before harvesting anyway. The Carenes looked ripe over 2 weeks ago but were rock hard. I don’t let them get fully ripe on the tree and when flesh gives in at all I ripen them inside. I don’t like eating fungicide, so this is the best way to stop the rot at this point- they haven’t been sprayed for almost 2 months. The ones that escape my notice until ripe that aren’t rotten are no sweeter.

I’m not sure I’d want to try donut nectarines- round ones are difficult enough in the humid region- donut peaches are the only peach equally difficult.

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It’s a nectarine Susu. It looks like that because it’s quite ripe and so full of sugar… I did not ask for wood.

The Honey Royal and Honey Lite were from California. I checked the sides of the boxes and that’s how they were labeled. The farmers market I bought them from gets fruits from all over the country.

Regarding the sugar content, yes it has been fairly dry here in Delaware and this region of the mid Atlantic. Excluding yesterday, I think we got a couple of inches of rain in a month or a month and half. Since the begging of June it rained May be two or three times max and relatively small amounts.

As for having too high Brix for this time of the season, I do not think that’s unlikely. Honey Lite ripens around the same time and it can have quite high brix. I also sampled a neighboring white peach tree that was extremely sweet, but I did not buy from it because I had already picked more than 30 lbs from the donut. I also agree with you that brix starting at 16-17 is quite good, but frankly this 26/27 brix donuts were so special, and as has been said before, it is not only the sugar but the flavor… one of these donut nectarines that I ate was so sweet that it felt like eating a fig or syrup, I didn’t measure its brix, but that one had too much sugar that it masked other flavors…

In conclusion, if I had access to this tree I’d certainly plant it.

I would also think that being an early nectarine, makes brown rot less if an issue, you would not have to be spraying it all spring and summer till Sep. Also having Bacterial Spot resistance is a big plus for us in the wet east cost.

Here in the South, our nectarine season is just about winding down.
My best producer was Red Gold, all baseball size fruits with a good acid kick. Still eating about 10/day. Very high yield with this variety. The most flavorful were Double Delight, and Honey Blaze. The squirrels got most of the Honey Royales. Will be adding Honey Kist and Harko this winter, and will be constructing a netted hoop house for all of my nects. Lost too many to varmints. I’m starting to like nects better than peaches, and am removing four peach trees and replacing them with nects.

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I agree with most of what you say. As far as early helping with rot, it depends how early and weather patterns in a region and on any given season. Saturn is early but rots like crazy HERE. We are talking about much different regional weather, so when I question what you say, it is from a foundation of considerable ignorance to your particular experience.

I think CA is about a month ahead of me- depending on where in CA, so it probably was Honey Royale- I thought it was grown at an orchard in your state. Unless you order fruit from a specialty farm that sends out truly ripe fruit by special shipment, CA nectarines and peaches are usually pretty bland. It is a shame that some of the best fruit growing land on the planet is used to produce such dreadful stuff. Picked too early and watered too much- I suppose the American consumer gets what they deserve but I suspect if they knew what they were missing they’d spend more for better tasting stuff.

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The higher the brix and lower the acid, the higher the squirrel lust. I probably won’t get to enjoy my Honey Royales this year although there are more than ever on the tree- in my soil it is far too vigorous so I had to figure out how to manage pruning it. If I can continue to knock down the squirrel population at current rate, I may get the chance to taste this strangely sweet nectarine again. It is a unique experience- not better, just different. It’s like eating some kind of tropical fruit.

Along with Flavor May it is my stingiest cropper of peaches and nects. However, Flavor May isn’t so lusted for even though it’s the only peach or nect in its season that I grow. My squirrels were and are still primarily focused on one particular Illinois Everbearing mulberry. I’m also trapping most coons under the same tree. However its fruit will be over in a couple of weeks and I expect things to get dicier than. It is a hungry year and the animals can smell a tree of ripe peaches or nects from far away.

Can’t agree more, it is so sad… not only the best growing land, but also some of the best tasting fruit varieties in the world… same with Washington apples.

I’d blame it on the economics of mass production in the fruit industry. If we had many smaller farms/orchards that are widely spread, people would be able to eat much higher quality produce that are locally grown.

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Yes, and CA has lots of excellent farmers markets with smaller farmers selling very high quality fruit. When my father lived nearby I used to try to attend the Santa Monica farm market while there. Fantastic quality available. Now I only go to Arcata when I’m there in far N. Ca on the foggy coast. Its farmers market has real good stuff too, but not the same variety- the SM market is HUGE.

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I feel your pain and frustration. I have Blaze and Royale planted next to each other, same age and same rootstock (krymsk), and Blaze out yields Royale 20-1. Go figure. I even have two Royales and only one Blaze, and that one Blaze far out produces both Royales combined.
For some reason my squirrels are MUCH smarter this year, and much harder to trap. But they sure love the Honey series of nects, and I’ve never seen them go after peaches like they have this year. I don’t grow any mulberries, so I’m SOL with that approach. Haven’t seen any coons this year, but the rabbits are abundant.

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Instead, we have Driscoll

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What’s Driscoll?

It seems strange that H. Lite and Royale are coming from CA at the same time. They mature 6 weeks apart.

I’m glad you guys are catching on to how good the Honey series and similar can be.

That new flat nectarine looks like a winner. I have one from DWN and it’s very small but tasty.

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I am very glad too Steve, and thanks to you for all the knowledge that you have enriched this forum with…

This nectarine is small too, about 4 oz a preice. For the Royal and Lite being available at the same time, I think they are coming from two different orchards possibly one in the south and the other in the north…

Not sure why you would think an orchard would just be willing to give out scion wood. Especially to people that just come in and ask for it? That seems counter productive to the orchard and also rude to even think to ask that orchard for a piece of their stock and trade. Odd statement. The orchard owner would probably ask you not to return to his place of business. He would be watching you very closely worried you would come back and steal a piece of his tree. Asking him for the variety one thing, asking for a scion piece so he would possible lose money an entirely different issue.
Maybe I am making a bigger issue out of your statement than what I should. If so no harm intended.

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Since he said it’s the best fruit he’s tasted and not readily available to buy, I thought he may have asked for a scion. No harm in asking. The farmer can always say no, if he feels the way you do.

The company that effectively monopolizes the commercial berry production in the US

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Just finding out the variety should be enough to ask. Once you get the variety you can find and buy your own tree or possible graft. Some varieties are patiented and require you to sign a form stating you will not sell, give away, loan, share, etc… ANY part of that variety. If so they can come back and file a lawsuit against you.

I know a few commercial growers, and I don’t think any well adjusted grower would take much offense if a customer asked for wood. They aren’t afraid of losing a single customer because that person starts growing their own fruit and would more likely take it as flattery, IMO- I would. You are correct about patent infringement, but that’s for the grower to worry about, it’s not a matter they’d expect the public to be aware of, although we fruit fetishists often know.

I believe the primary reason for protecting patents is to reign in commercial growers from skipping royalties- hobbyists represent a very small slice of the pie. Royalty per tree is the same no matter how many you purchase and how much the other part of per-tree cost is reduced for volume.

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Not sure what you mean by " well adjusted grower". I think if you personally know the grower or are a very frequent visitor to his place and he has known you over the years, then yes possibly ask him. I would not ask him of that, IMO. I know it may seem like just like I am being nitpicky but it just does not seem right to do that to a commercial operation. His business, his livelihood, his profit.

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