Nectarines just better

Now I know why many of you like the taste of nectarine. It is sweet but I could taste the sourness in it. It is more complex and interesting taste than just sweetness. I am glad I got home grown ones but it is a pain to grow.

I had ripe Shiro yesterday. It was sweet but I did not detect anything else. I think I could eat more complex- tasting fruit than simple sweet fruit.

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Maybe you can acquire some Indar from someone with a big container of it. Nectarines crack more and there is more damaged fruit but I get plenty of fine fruit from them, and if you have a range of varieties, some year some crack some years they donā€™t so you always get lots of perfect looking Nects if the crop isnā€™t frozen out. Some years early ones crack more and some years the late ones.

What I like is how well they freeze. I eat a lot of frozen (thawed) fruit with my breakfasts when there is no fruit on my trees. Nects freeze much better than peaches, IMO.

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I have Indar. I just have hard time finding nects. They were hiding under thick leaves and on underside of branches.

Also, my 3 year old tree is only 4 ft tall. Scaffolds are about my waist high (and I am short) making it a challeng to spray on underside.

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My Arctic Glos are now becoming over ripe, which means they turn blood red, and are even better if you can stand the softness. I froze a few bags like this one. To use in crisps and such. These are not the over ripe ones, just damaged ones I froze day of harvest.Iā€™m eating the over ripe ones! These are the bomb, i donā€™t need any other nects.

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Yes you do, if you want more than 2 weeks of nectbliss.

One tree at a time for 3 months.

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Yeah I know youā€™re right,Looking at independence. That Reema plum sounds good too.

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If you like Artic Glo as it grows there you will also like Silver Gem (as it grows here, at least), and enjoy them in July, probably. Jade follows Silver Gem and should be outstanding in your drier conditions, cracks a lot here, so far, but is sublime eating. It is a full sized nectarine unlike the diminutive Gem and Glo and has plenty of red in the flesh and acid in the profile.

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Yes, thatā€™s the goal! :slight_smile: More like four months for me.

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Actually, if you include plums and peaches in the mix, 4 for me as well- plus 2-3 more out of the fridge and after all these years of effort it is the reality, not the dream. Iā€™ve recently planted some late nects that may give me them until Oct.

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Yes, i still have some Glos, and today harvested lucky13 Peach, so yeah I have to freeze them, way too many. I think Iā€™m going to drastically thin nest year!
Alan is your Satsuma plums ripe yet? Mine is close, just wondering?

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I recently had both a Hardired nectarine and a Redhaven peach with brix of 17. They were picked as ripe as possible and set on the counter for a few days. Itā€™s amazing how the nectarine tasted much sweeter and more flavorful despite the same brix. It must be the higher juice content. :yum:

Thank God the cloudy/rainy weather stopped 2 weeks ago. The brix levels started at 15, but have been slowly coming up. Today I had both a Santa Rosa plum and a Hardired at 20 brix.

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I donā€™t understand how you are getting such high brix numbers. Iā€™ve never had a J. plum reach near 20 or a peach higher than 15 and this year Iā€™m picking Nects that are only at 12 as often as not. None over 15 lately. Your trees are growing in natural soil that encourages vigorous growth? Iā€™m feeling rather jealous, but even more puzzled. Some sites I manage with dawn to dusk sun get slightly better brix than my own site, but not like your numbers.

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We had some Frost peaches that either ripened on the counter or were knocked off the tree ripe by marauding varmints and they were very good. However the nectarines are just as good or better straight off the trees.

My family came over for another BBQ last night (rotisserie Prime Rib, BBQ pork ribs and chicken, cedar plank Salmon filets, stir-fried home grown broccolini, cauliflower and red bell peppers, 2 types of stir fry noodles, grilled corn and green Thai fish curry) and my dad went and harvested several peaches off my trees that he thought were ripe but still needed more time to tree ripen. Cut up two of the ripest and they were disappointing.

In general Iā€™m finding it easier to get excellent tree ripened nectarines than peaches this season. Either they fall off or are knocked off. A few days on the counter though pays off big time.

Anthony

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Not sure I have the answer, but I do have some ideal conditions.

  1. While it did rain frequently prior to August, the showers were brief and precipitation amounts werenā€™t enough to penetrate the soil much. I have 1.5" total for August, 3.5" for July, and 2" for June. There has been no rain and lots of sun for the past 2 weeks. It seems like the annual dry spell is late this year, as there is no rain predicted for the rest of the month.
  2. I planted my peaches and nectarines on a dry slope. It doesnā€™t get any runoff water. The grass is usually stunted there. I was worried that it might be too dry during extended dry spells, but trees are doing great so far.
  3. All my trees are getting 2/3 full sun or more. The plums are getting full sun.
  4. I only pick fruit that comes off with a gentle tug. I do lose some fruit between daily pickings, but I want my fruit to be as good as I can get it.

Average 2" Hardired and 2" Santa Rosa:

Inside of Hardired isnā€™t that exciting. Flavor was more intense than I expected, given that it is the lowest rated nectarine. If this is the worst nectarine, then I guess nectarines are better in general.

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Hey @alan, are you able to grow the Evaā€™s Pride or the traditional Saturn Peach (not the donut) in your location?

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I love nectarines, but must say I like peaches too. After processing Lucky 13 and freezing a bunch, the mild firm flesh was top rate. I would not want to give up peaches. Plus just the perfect flawless fruits, very nice. And not dependent on brix. Fine at a brix of 12.

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You are in a different weather zone altogether. Weā€™ve had much more rain, and your site is proof that where there is rain during summer, deep rich soil is not the best for fruit trees and that Iā€™m probably right when I caution of the long term affect of annual mulching of fruit trees (mulch gradually converts to rich humus with lots of water holding capacity),.

Of sites I manage, best peaches and nects come from sandy soils. Your site allows deficit irrigation to some degree. Enjoy your great fruit- you are a lucky grower and a smart one if you intentionally planted on a dry slope. The high brix of your Santa Rosa still surprises me because Iā€™m under the impression that excessive water doesnā€™t knock down the sugar of plums the way it does for other fruit. My plums are as sweet as ever this year but most J. plums were wiped out. Actually, the Shiros were quite bland but other J. plums were fine. The water has adversely affected Flavor Grenade pluot as well.

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Wow if Hardired are the worst, & most combo tree nectarines around here are Hardired, then nectarines totally are better. I just bought a Fantasia and several Independence but most homegrown nectarines so far over the last several years have been delicious Hardired.

Anthony

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It is not something that Iā€™ve heard about growing in the East coast. I assume you must be mentioning them because they are high brix peaches. My nects are what are saving me this year- canā€™t stand my own peaches and the crop is huge with beautiful fruit Iā€™m almost embarrassed to give them away. They smell so good- look so good and taste like slightly sweetened water. Man, Iā€™m glad I donā€™t have to sell them to make the mortgage on the farm- that would truly suck.

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Nope, theyā€™re very flavorful.

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