That’s fantastic! Congratulations, Mark!
BTW, I happened to find your website a few months back while searching for some peach descriptions, but I didn’t know then it was yours! A very nice family picture on the website’s first page!
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My middle son asked me today if I’d seen your peach. He’d heard the story on NPR and knew it was you. 
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If I had an orchard I would do all the interviews. I get that completely. In my situation, If I happen to grow the largest peach here, now. I probably would not summit it. We do know that your peach is not the largest. Just the largest submitted. I totally get not submitting, and as stated I would not either. I so dislike the news people, as I have seen them wreck lives and such. Mostly associated with tragedy. Total exploitation of people’s misery. It happened to a good friend who lost her 3 year old son in a freak accident. I now have to refrain from hurting news people. I will never talk to them under any circumstances.
Unless you’ve grown a heavier one or know of someone who has you know nothing of the sort, although the presumption seems accurate enough. This is about verified records and as much about fun as anything- your note is not exactly a barrel full of monkeys.
I’ve had problems with the few press interviews I’ve done- the writers didn’t seem sticklers for accuracy but I don’t think their is any connection between tragedy porn journalism and a story covering a really big peach- that would be a topic for another topic.
As far as handling the press in matters related to one’s profession, I now think it is a good idea to require a fact check before publication.
I, for one, love journalists- some more the others, of course. The media outlets that focus on human tragedy unrelated to larger issues are not where I go for news but it is a big business form of entertainment. The entertained are as culpable as the entertainers.
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I’m just going by what Olpea said, so ask him.He mentions a bigger peach i think in the first post.
My post was rather cold. I didn’t mean it like that. I would for sure do exactly what Mark did if I had an orchard. It was an excellent opportunity, and looked like a lot of fun too! When such an opportunity presents itself, one needs to take advantage of it. For me it offers no advantage to report, so i would not. Sorry for any confusion as what I meant.
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I’m still at the farm typing from my phone so excuse any typos, etc. Autocorrect isn’t my best friend 
.
It’s true the heaviest peach which grew on one of my trees this year is not the heaviest peach ever reported. Paul Friday has reported a heavier peach. And other grower in MI has reported a slightly heavier peach yet.
However, if my peach is accepted by Guinness, it will be the heaviest peach ever verified with them.
I think this is the way of things. To draw an analogy, I would be surprised if some of Michael Phelps records have not been broken in practice, observed by coaches and their athletes, but I suppose the celebration comes when it’s official.
When I first weighed this big peach, there was some confusion on my part what the actual record was. A relative actually called Paul Friday on the phone (if I had known he was going to do that, I would never have let him bother the guy.)
Paul did indicate he held the Guinness 2002 record and did indicate in some subsequent year once picked about 10 huge peaches off a tree, one of which beat his previous record substantially. He told my relative since he already held the record, he didn’t want to go through the verification process to move the bar up. I can totally understand. Subsequently, someone claimed to beat Paul Friday’s biggest peach.
However, since it was clear my peach beat the Guinness record Paul Friday held, I decided to pursue the official record.
As Alan correctly saw it, it was mostly done as a fun thing, although I admit the mention of my peach orchard was in the back of my mind
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Mark,
I don’t have a commercial orchard, but if any of the fruit I grow could be on the Guinness Book of World Record, I would try to get on it. To me, it’d be a lot of fun, a personal pride and a right to brag
You’ve earned it. In fact, I would be proud if I were from Kansas, the place where the world largest peach was grown.
Let us know when it is official. Also, thank you for teaching us how to submit the application to Guinness. I am hoping that my jujubes would hold the world record of the smallest jujubes ever ripen 
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This entire story is so cool on many levels. My whole job site now knows that the largest peach ever grown grew in Kansas. Congrats to you… Let the legend grow!!!
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Just wanted to follow up on this thread. It turns out we did have the biggest peach at 770 grams, but only for a month. A Canadian grower by the name of Robert Hogue of Roseridge Orchards in British Columbia, Canada beat both Paul Friday’s peach and ours. Paul Friday’s 2002 record peach weighed 725 grams. Ours weighed 770 grams picked and weighed in August 2016. Robert Hogue’s peach weighed 810 grams.
That’s the way it goes. The old record held for 14 years, mine held for less than a month, Lol.
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Well, your “10 Seconds of Fame”, but you’re still a superstar for us, Olpea Did the news happen to say what variety Robert Hogue great to beat everyone else’s peach?
Patty S.
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Yes Patty. He grew the world record peach from Autumnstar.
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Mark,
At least, you are in the record book. Congrats.
Autumn Star? Now, maybe, I should try to grow large peaches, too, if flower buds are not all killed by now.
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Olpea, I can’t help but be reminded of when I was in junior high we had a plaque in the gym with all the school records for track and field as well as the names of the record holders. I wanted my name up there so bad for the mile. Finally in 9th grade I broke it, 5:34! Three hours later THE SAME DAY some other kid broke mine. . .
never did get my name on that damn plaque
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Not me, I’m fickle. I’m a Hogue groupie now. I like that name!
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Boooooooooo!
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Bet your peaches taste better!
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@Olpea,Mark,
Revive this thread just for fun. We have several new members. Many may not have seen your record breaking peach.
Today I picked my large PF25 (thank you @Barkslip). It is no where near as big as yours but it is plenty big to me. It is a late peach. I just picked them today. PF24C was done over week ago.
3 of them makes about a kilo!!
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Tippy,
Those are some large peaches! They look delish!
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Nice job growing them. They look wonderful!
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Admittedly, there was a reason why they were so big. During our dry period in the summer, I watered the tree with a hose. I was distracted and left the hose on for hours. Needless to say, the tree was almost drowned 
I think excessive water played a role in getting them to balloon up. Granted, they are supposed to be large peaches genetically, too.
They tasted mild with melting flesh. Without that much water, their taste could have been better. It is a nice late (and large) peach.
They do not color up for me because they were in clemson paper bags.
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