Over here GD produces fair crops, I definitely thin but not as much as other varieties. Also very good peach here but does not size up well like Alan says, probably cause its pretty early, first week of june here in California. It also can cling to pit a bit. DWN states not an early bloomer which helps you guys a little.
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Every other early I listed has bigger fruit than GD except Sugar May, which is extremely early. Earlys do tend to cling. Canāt remember for sure, but I think Glengo is free. Olpea likely knows, he has more experience with it than I do. Iāve only fully fruited it the season before last and was mostly frozen out last year.
Yes, I just realized both my earlier peaches are larger than GD. But I do think its a winner here anyways, very good flavor about the size of a tennis ball. Probably not good for market though do to size.
It has such good flavor that birds here favor it over any other early peach I grow. If I let the peaches get fully ripe on the tree they become bird food. High sugar, deep orange flesh. Rich like a late.
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Iād probably describe it as semi-free. Iāve just harvested it two years, but thatās more or less how itās been for me. Some fruits you can twist back and forth to get them apart and some are more clingy.
Alan you mentioned Sugar May a couple times. Are you sure you donāt mean Rich May? I grew a couple trees of Sugar May and finally cut them down last fall because the flavor wasnāt very good (and pretty susc. to bac. spot).
What do you think about Carolina Gold? It did fine for me in Z5. It has been in the ground for 2 years now and the tree is full of flower buds.
Tony
Iāve grown it for quite some time and like it. Good flavor. Beautiful yellow flesh when cut open (no red in the flesh). Last summer I had one customer specifically request Carolina Gold. She asked for them all summer and they finally came ripe and she was happy. I ordered a couple more of these trees through Vaughn for this spring.
One downside Iāve seen is that sometimes itās not been the most productive peach. This is a variety that is best to thin late after the fruitlets have solidly set. It doesnāt take much thinning.
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Thanks for the infos. Have you try to grow the Valley Sweet peach from DWN. I am looking forward to Harvest this tree for the time in the mid season.
Tony
I think you should further investigate Harrow Diamond, Madison, and Harmony (Canadian Harmony). They are said to be delicious and cold-hardy. I can attest for Harmony being top-notch yummerz.
Sugar May is a great-tasting peach here in z7a, but itās a white peach-- not what you said youāre after.
You will love Redhaven. It is a rugged plant, and has that true peach flavor.
Contender is fairly good, too, so you definitely started off on the right foot.
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Yes, I meant Rich May. My file is full. What must I discharge to make room for another name?
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Redskin is another good one for my area. Anything Grandpaās nursery sells should be considered. It is in Michigan.
I crossed Indian Free with Arctic Glo and have 3 seedlings now, hoping for an earlier ripening peach with red flesh. I cannot get enough of them!!
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Tony, Iāve not grown many peaches from DWN and the ones I have grown generally havenāt worked out for me. We have too much bac. spot pressure here. Peaches developed for a dry climate like CA just donāt work in humid wet climates in a commercial setting with lots of trees which multiply the disease pressure. They do sometimes work better in a backyard setting with fewer trees though, as Iāve experienced in my backyard.
Drew, you might want to consider Raritan Rose. It has some red in the flesh which gives some of that ātartnessā to white peaches. Itās one of the better white peaches (imo) which ripens a few days after Redhaven. Fairly tolerant to spring frosts too.
I wanted to clarify too, when I mentioned red in the flesh in my earlier post, I was referring to yellow peaches. Generally red in the flesh of yellow peaches isnāt generally considered desirable because it browns when canning and doesnāt look as appealing as solid yellow fleshed peaches (although the red may add some antioxidants I donāt know). One exception to this is Rich May which has a lot of red in the flesh and has that classic red ātartnessā found in Indian Free, and to a lesser degree in Raritan Rose.
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Great info about the red in the peaches. I did not know that. Interesting information and something to consider as well.
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That would also explain why cling peaches are used more for canning than freestone peaches. The issue if they have the red tinge on the flesh at the pit.
Cling peaches are used because the flesh is very firm, even rubbery. Nobody told Indian Blood Cling is wasnāt supposed to be blood red. One of the very oldest known peaches.
I myself look for red in yellows too, as they taste the best to me.
Thanks Olpea for the tips. Yes the red color does add molecules desirable to ingest.
Compounds in stone fruits could help with āmetabolic syndrome,ā according to Dr. Luis Cisneros-Zevallos, AgriLife Research food scientist involved in a study at the American Chemical Society in Philadelphia. Cisneros-Zevallos says, āOur work indicates that phenolic compounds present in these fruits have anti-obesity, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic properties in different cell lines and may also reduce the oxidation of bad LDL cholesterol which is associated with cardiovascular disease.ā
Red colored fruit is known to have tremendous value for proper heart function
Nutrients in Red Fruits and Vegetables Include: Lycopene, ellagic acid, Quercetin, and Hesperidin, to name a few. These nutrients reduce the risk of prostate cancer, lower blood pressure, reduce tumor growth and LDL cholesterol levels, scavenge harmful free-radicals, and support join tissue in arthritis cases.
Some compounds have unknown properties. I like to consume Magnolia vine berries and some unique compounds have been found in this fruit. What they do is unknown, but appear to have beneficial properties. More study is needed. One of the 50 essential Chinese herbs.
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Do these Indian Free taste tart/acid or are they sweet. My family would not enjoy tart or acid type tasting peaches. It would be a waste for me to try and grow it if they will not eat them.
That is one concern is the bacterial spot issue. We gets lots of rain off and on and basically you just cannot keep up with the spraying to keep it away. I need peaches that not as susceptible to the bacterial spot issue. PF sound pretty good. I just need one to fit into my ripening frame of some weeks after Contender.
I would say they are tart, although they have high sugar, higher than any of my other peaches. I like Arctic Glo nectarine better, it is still acid, but everybody says itās sweet too. At least three times I was told it was the best nectarine they ever ate. If you donāt like tart fruit, like raspberries, I would avoid Indian Free. Itās like raspberries with peach flavor too.
Yes, even though OāHenry is better, it comes with a cost. So PF is an option, all mentioned are pretty darn good! Luckily we are blessed with many good peaches.
Redskin as mentioned is another option, Loring is as good or better than OāHenry. Although it is not that cold hardy and should probably be skipped. I guess it tends not to have much red in the skin and is hard to sell because of it. An above average PF variety is PF 24C, cold hardy and good too. The PF peaches all look excellent too, very red, very pretty. The Canadian series is an awesome series too as mentioned by others.
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As long as it has a good peach taste,not tart, isnāt susceptible to bacterial spot ( a waste of fruit) Iād be happy with that combination. It doesnāt have to be that red. Taste is more important. ( like the more modern apples that are too sweet and that do not have that true apple flavor). Now everyone seems to want that mostly red blush peach. Looks pretty as a picture.
I always remember what a store bought Red Delicious looks like- perfect, and looks like it would be so good. Take a bite and it is like semi dry cardboard with no taste at all. Yuck! I want a peach to have that nice peach flavor like I used to get when I was growing up. My uncle lived in Alabama ( next to the GA border) and in SC. Always loved going there and getting peaches.
It can be. If you have a cloudy, cold summer, they may be tart, plus itās really late! Mine were ripe October 5th in zone 6a last year. I think Iām going to pick them a little earlier to let them ripen off vine.
Yes, me too, we had peach trees when I was a kid. The best peaches ever, I have no idea what they were?
I have though discovered these other peaches, the whites, most are not for me,some though are excellent.
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Has anyone had experiences with PF Big George or PF Fat Lady?