Peaches 2015

[Matt_in_Maryland]

Here’s a photo of a Baby Crawford (1 of 2 my tree produced this year), picked last week. Teeny tiny:

Immediately took a bite:

Juicy, tangy, but not very sweet. Very fuzzy surface. Texture a little hard. Probably should have allowed to ripen more, but I was too impatient.

I left the other one on the tree to harvest later; it didn’t yield to the squeeze test. It’s bustin’ out of my wife’s panty hose:

I hope to pick this one on Monday when I can get back up to the property again…

[mamuang]

Thanks for the report, Scott.

I try not to think about peaches this year.
PF1 all had split pits and tasted very bland.
PF24 is ripening but 98% have some forms or another of bug damages. Autumn Star, not ripen yet but same deal re. Damages

There is always next year!

[alan]

I just finished a Winblo from a small tree not yet shaped up to produce best peaches (still a crowded central leader tree). There were maybe 25 on the tree but only about 5 positioned to reach highest quality and it was one of them. The fruit is medium sized and not highly colored for a modern peach (a plus for the home grower not seeking to attract birds).

What impresses me about the peach is its high sugar with acid that seems not evenly distributed throughout the peach creating a very interesting eating experience as one bite has a lot of sour in the mix with its prevalent high sugar and another bite mostly just sugar. The texture is pleasingly fibrous and the fruit extremely juicy (which I expect from a tree ripened peach in our climate). If the few fruit I’ve eaten from it are typical of the variety I can see why it is so highly rated for its flavor. Of course, such a young, small tree is not exactly a reliable representative but you can usually get a pretty good idea at this point.

[mamuang]

Alan,
You made me want to inject steroid to my tiny Winblo. It was planted last spring but barely survived. This spring, I moved it to a sunnier spot. It has grown a bit more but rather slowly.

I do not expect anything from it next year but hope it will decide to thrive.

I got three Winblo from Vaughn in TN. Gave two to friends. Theirs grow normally. I must have gotten a dud.

[alan]

Mam, usually a dud for me sends out a single shoot a bit late and the next season is like starting with a good tree- I lose a year, but it is not a long term issue. If your tree continues to straggle and struggle the second season I suspect you soil is not the light, well drained type peaches prefer. Planting on tall mounds does a lot to counter this as photos of Olpea’s trees make clear. One would certainly not want more vigor than he gets and he’s growing in high clay soil.

[BobVance]

What Alan describes for Winblo (different parts of the same fruit with wildly different flavor and brix) is what I’ve seen in Carolina Gold. My CG is just about ripe, so I should be able to report on it soon.

Scott just posted a pic with Pallas as the big peach, so here is one with it as the small peach. The big one is a White River. I was surprised by the amount of red flesh in the WR. It turns out that this one wasn’t really ripe- I was tricked into picking it by the nearby one which birds and bugs had eaten half of. I blew on it repeatedly to disperse the ants and the other half was very good: perfumed and juicy with some sweetness (not great brix at 12, but it was still pretty tasty). As it turns out, I should have let the whole one sit for a few days- the brix was only ~8 and it clearly needed some time, either on the counter or in the tree. Interestingly, from what I’ve found online it should ripen with Contender, which I finished with last week.

The White River measured 3" x 2.8" (I forgot to measure the 3rd dimension until after I had eaten half, so I’m not sure on that, but it was narrower- maybe 2.2-2.5"):

[Alcedo]

Harvest day today white peach ‘Benedicte’ white fleshy and virtually immune to diseases. A newcomer for the home gardener

has a very good taste. Origin : France

[alan]

Bob, that is beautiful flesh. I’d like to grow that one in my more pampered conditions.

I didn’t mean that overall brix was widely distributed just the acid. Probably just more acid as you get close to the pit. I need to eat another.

[BobVance]

White River sure put on some good size (biggest peach I’ve grown) in less than pampered conditions. I did give it one surround spray in May and one MFF spray near the end of June. If you want to grow it, I can give you some wood, either for budding now, or in the spring for grafting.

I got some very good John Boy peaches from the farmers market today. They were around 13 brix and had a nice medium-strong flavor. I think the brix and general quality on my Contenders was similar, but that isn’t really a fair comparison (different growing conditions). They were definitely better than the Red Haven’s they grow. They also had the first of the Casteltons (which weren’t very good- not thinned enough or fully ripe).

My Contenders also had a very interesting snap to them. I wonder if it is what happens when a peach gets almost enough water to split, but doesn’t quite get there. The Cavalier nectarine next to it split like crazy and most didn’t size up properly. I did get one from it which was 12 brix, decent sized, and OK quality. It is a bit surprising that none of the cracked ones rotted, which is one mark in its favor. I’m still disappointed with it, but will give it at least another year.

[mrsg47]

Mine are just as small but still green. Thanks so much for your photographs too. Did you see Scott’s pics? This is a huge help, as I now know my Early Crawford’s are right on track. Thanks again.

[mrsg47]

Your peaches are beautiful. Where do I buy this tree? The photos are lovely!

[Matt_in_Maryland]

Bob, interesting report on how White River (an Arkansas peach) is doing in your northern climate.

I plan to trial its descendant, White Diamond, as soon as my finances allow. WD is supposed to perform similarly to White River, but ripen a bit later (approx Sept 2- 18), which will fill a hole in my white peach season (between Lady Nancy and Oldmixon Free).

[Olpea]

Olpea, so far the most flavorful and unique white peach I’ve had this season is TangO’s II.

Alan, I thought TangOs II was a good white peach too and customers really liked it. The Sweet Cap I had a couple days ago was a little better. I had been picking the Sweet Cap pretty early because even though they were firm, there was white colored background (where the peach attaches to the shoot). Normally with most white peaches, when there isn’t any green at the attachment, they are OK to pick. In the case of Sweet Cap, the background color where the shoot attaches is fully white but still way too early. The early ones would soften after about 5 days. The were sweet but more like a sub-acid white. However, the one I had off the tree the other day was ready to eat and very good.

I’m not endorsing Sweet Cap because it’s just one year. I’ve made the mistake of endorsing a peach before that I shouldn’t have. At one time I endorsed PF1 because I was so thrilled it was such an early peach. I think Bob and Mamuang planted it because of that. Now I’m removing PF1 and I think they have too.

I had a few Winblos earlier this season. Mine are young trees too, so it’s not a fair evaluation, but I suspect I will prefer Ernies Choice for that window because its a very good tasting peach and so much larger than Winblo. I guess I’m turning more into a commercial grower because size is starting to matter more to me. It’s just so much easier to sell big fruit, as long as it tastes good.

Here’s a photo of a Baby Crawford (1 of 2 my tree produced this year), picked last week. Teeny tiny:

Matt, here’s a pic of some Baby Crawfords I took a couple weeks ago. Size is a problem, but they were decent sized this year, probably because the tree is getting bigger and we’ve had more than the usual amount of rain this summer.

[alan]

Earnie’s Choice is very close to Winblo in flavor and I can see why it would be better for commercial purposes- bright color with lots of red, very narrow picking window to reduce trips to the tree, and, as you mentioned, size. Windblo seems, so far, to ripen over a longer period, which is better for most home growers. I’m likely to let Winblo take over EC’s slot in my orchard and just use Coral Star to please the size queens and impress them all with my “awesome growing abilities”. Coral Star ripens just a few days after EC anyway- there is even a couple days of overlap. Nothing gives me bigger peaches.

[mrsg47]

Olpea! Thanks for the photos of your Early Crawfords. Small, but how did they taste? Thanks!

[danzeb]

Harvest day today white peach ‘Benedicte’ white fleshy and virtually immune to diseases. A newcomer for the home gardener

Alcedo, any sprays used? That’s a beautiful looking peach. Does anyone know is it is available in the US?

[scottfsmith]

MrsG, Olpea has Baby Crawford, not Early Crawford. I always confuse the two names since Early Crawford is so small. I don’t think Baby Crawford is all that small, its about average in my orchard (or was until I removed it).

I am getting the first fully ripe Sanguine de Chateauneuf in now, its yet another great red-fleshed peach. It is a week or two later so is a good one to extend the read peach season.

[Drew51]

I harvested my first peaches from PF lucky 13. The peaches were OK, not great. The Artctic Glo nectarine spoiled me. Those were the best nectarines I ever ate. So these peaches were a let down. I suggest everybody trial Arctic Glo, it is an exceptional nectarine. I will have scion this winter for anybody wanting some. It’s a high acid and a high sugar fruit. I wish I could have tested the brix, it was very sweet. All who tried it were amazed. Two people asked if I had more of them! (I didn’t). These tasted great ripe, great under ripe, and even better over ripe.

Lucky 13

Arctic Glo

Again thanks everybody for the help. Thanks to you guys these fruits were fantastic, bug and fungal free. Most were unblemished in anyway.

[mrsg47]

Thank you Scott. Chateauneuf sounds fabulous too. My Shui Mi Tao should be ready this week! I hope there is one decent one left (only five left on the tree). All dropped due to rot. Had my very first Early Crawford drop yesterday (totally beige). This is getting very frustrating!

[Olpea]

Mrs. G

I took a pic today of the last of my Early Crawfords. They are smaller than Baby Crawfords but both varieties taste very good. I didn’t have a banana, so I used my pruners for size. The four peaches together are Early Crawford. The peach by itself is a Madison.