PEACHES FROM THE FRUIT AND BERRY PATCH

Peaches are usually classified in two ways: white or yellow and clingstone or freestone. Yellow peaches are the type peaches shipped in from other peach growing areas, usually have a red blush over a yellow skin when ripe and a yellow flesh. White peaches are very soft, are not usually shipped and are therefore available from local growers only. Clingstone peaches do not come off the seed or pit easily and the seed must be cut out of the peach. Most of the commercially canned peaches are clingstone. Freestone peaches are easily removed from the seed and can often be broken in half with the fingers. Some of the early peaches are somewhere in between clingstone and freestone peaches and are classified as semifreestone.

Since peaches are very soft and easily bruised, they should be picked when fully ripe but still firm. Peaches are ripe when the background color has changed from green to a creamy yellow color (white peaches are an exception to this rule). Do not depend upon the red blush as an indicator of ripeness. Allow peaches to remain at room temperature until they start to soften. Since soft peaches will begin to rot in a day or two at room temperature, they should be refrigerated as soon as they begin to soften.

While peach varieties vary slightly from each other, they do not differ as significantly as apples and different peach varieties are used primarily to lengthen the harvest season. We have approximately 19 varieties giving a harvest season from mid June to early September. The following are the varieties and approximate harvest dates of the peaches we have planted in our orchard.

 

                  Variety                                     Type Peach                                     Approximate Harvest Date

                  CANDOR                                SEMI/YELLOW                                    JUNE 20
                  SWEET HAVEN                      FREE/YELLOW                                    JUNE 29
                  RED HAVEN                           SEMI/YELLOW                                    JULY 13
                  LATE SUN HAVEN                FREE/YELLOW                                    JULY 13
                  NEW HAVEN                          FREE/YELLOW                                    JULY 16
                  RANGER    *                          FREE/YELLOW                                    JULY 17
                  CVN-W *                                 FREE/WHITE                                       JULY 19
                  NECTAR   *                            FREE/WHITE                                       JULY 19
                  WINBLO *                              FREE/YELLOW                                   JULY 26
                  REDGLOBE *                        FREE/YELLOW                                   JULY 28
                  CONTENDER *                     FREE/YELLOW                                   AUGUST 1
                  MADISON *                           FREE/YELLOW                                   AUGUST 3
                  CRESTHAVEN *                   FREE/YELLOW                                    AUGUST 7
                  BISCOE *                                FREE/YELLOW                                   AUGUST 11
                  BELLE OF GEORGIA *        FREE/WHITE                                       AUGUST 11
                  HONEY DEW HALE *           FREE/WHITE                                       AUGUST 18
                  TYLER                                     FREE/YELLOW                                    AUGUST 20
                  MONROE                                FREE/YELLOW                                    AUGUST 25
                  LEGEND                                  FREE/YELLOW                                    AUGUST 27
                  *Bold indicates main season varieties.