[NAFEX] grocery store peaches and nectarines

Dennis Norton dmnorton at royaloakfarmorchard.com
Mon Jan 23 19:05:07 EST 2006


Our Starking Delicious and Summer Pearl have been here for almost 13 years 
and have held up to our -20 temps, although the temps have not sustained for 
more than 3-4 days.
Dennis Norton
Royal Oak Farm Orchard
http://www.royaloakfarmorchard.com
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Dave Griffin
  To: Dennis Norton <dmnorton at royaloakfarmorchard.com>,North American Fruit 
Explorers
  Sent: Monday, January 23, 2006 5:47 PM
  Subject: Re: [NAFEX] grocery store peaches and nectarines


  The only ones of these that have survived here at least 3 years ( and -29 
F) as branches on Siberian C trees are Madison, Reliance, and Redhaven. 
Encore, PF 1, PF7, PF 24 and Coral Star survived a winter or 2 but not 
the -29F. Starking Delicious, Summer Pearl, are young in testing and I 
haven't tried the others. I want to have another shot at Encore. None of 
these rootstocks except Bailey are hardy here, even as rootstocks under 
ground but I haven't tried Tenn Nat VF281.1, and Bailey as a rootstock 
causes late growth of the cultivar into the fall.

  Dave
  Central MN, z 4a

    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Dennis Norton
    To: griffingardens at earthlink.net;North American Fruit Explorers
    Sent: 1/23/06 4:06:05 PM
    Subject: Re: [NAFEX] grocery store peaches and nectarines


    We grow Earliglow, Madison, Starking Delicious, Reliance, Summer Pearl, 
Redskin, Redhaven, Stark Finale, Encore, Flamin' Fury in PF1, PF7, PF24, 
PF25, Coral Star FA59, Sugar Giant, John Boy and Laurol.  They begin 
ripening in early July with Flamin' Fury PF1 and continue through September 
with Laurol.  The best for flavor is a toss up.  The Redhaven have always 
been a great peach, but the John Boy is giving it a run for its money.  The 
easiest to grow is Redhaven by far, but the newer Flamin' Fury is running a 
close second.  Most of the rootstock is Bailey, Lovell, and Tenn Nat 
VF281.1.  Our reasons for choosing these are the result of an eight year 
peach rootstock performance test done by the USDA Agricultural Research 
Service, a synopsis of which follows:

      To increase orchard productivity and efficiency, growers are looking 
for solutions in the form of new rootstocks that are more resistant to 
winter cold damage, drought stress, soil anaerobic conditions, root 
pathogens, soil nematodes, bacterial and fungal cankers, etc. New peach 
seedling and clonal rootstocks released in the last 20 years have been 
variously reported to be more productive, tolerant of replant sites, 
nematodes, Armillaria root rot, crown gall or more winter hardy than 
previous utilized rootstocks. However, these rootstocks have had only 
limited testing in North America. To determine the merits of these 
rootstocks for use under North American conditions a large scale cooperative 
regional trial was undertaken. Only 7 of 19 rootstocks were common to all 
locations. Moreover, rootstock x site interactions were common indicating 
that specific recommendations might need to be made locally rather than 
regionally much less nationally. However, some trends were evident in the 
performance of the 7 rootstocks (Lovell, Bailey, Tennessee Natural 281-1, GF 
305, Higama, Montclar and Guardian (BY520-9)) common to all locations. After 
8 years, trees on Guardian and Lovell rootstocks were the largest. Trees on 
Guardian, Lovell and Montclar produced the largest yields. However, trees on 
Tennessee Natural 281-1 and Bailey had the highest yield efficiency. 
Individual fruit size was largest on Bailey and Higama rootstocks. Rootstock 
suckering was highest on Guardian rootstock.


    The full study can be found at 
http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publications.htm?SEQ_NO_115=171926

    Dennis Norton
    Royal Oak Farm Orchard
    http://www.royaloakfarmorchard.com
      ----- Original Message ----- 
      From: Dave Griffin
      To: Dennis Norton <dmnorton at royaloakfarmorchard.com>,North American 
Fruit Explorers
      Sent: Monday, January 23, 2006 12:27 PM
      Subject: Re: [NAFEX] grocery store peaches and nectarines


      Hi Dennis,

      If you wouldn't mind, what varieties do you grow? Which do you like 
best for flavor? For growing? I realize this is site and climate specific 
for your orchard but it might be a good snapshot in that context and useful 
information for the rest of us. Thanks.

      Dave


        ----- Original Message ----- 
        From: Dennis Norton
        To: griffingardens at earthlink.net;North American Fruit Explorers
        Sent: 1/23/06 2:06:42 AM
        Subject: Re: [NAFEX] grocery store peaches and nectarines


        Being a peach grower with about 1,000 trees, we do things a little 
differently than the commercial growers.  Peaches grown and shipped 
commercially to the grocery stores are picked at first color.  That means at 
the first sign of that yellowish/red tint, they are ready to pick to be 
shipped.  They are not picked at the right stage to have any flavor, but the 
poor folks that have only purchased peaches at the grocery store don't know 
any better.  To get the best flavor for peaches, they should be picked when 
"firm ripe".   "Firm ripe" means they are not soft yet, but not too hard 
either.  The color should have a good red tint to it, but not too much red. 
They should be "cooled down" at 68 degrees for 24 hours.  Then they should 
be stored at 34 degrees while waiting to be sold.  Can anyone imagine a 
commercial grower doing this?  Since we grow only for our own market, this 
is how we handle our peaches.  We have never been able to meet the demand 
for our peaches and have always had to supplement.  We purchase our 
supplements from Eckert's Orchards in Bellville, IL who grow their peaches 
the same as we do and pick them at the same time.  Our shipments arrive on 
Friday morning, having been picked on Thursday.  We store them at 34 degrees 
and they last us for a good 7 days.  We always sell out just when that next 
shipment arrives and have never had a complaint about tasteless peaches. 
And we still have a problem meeting demand!  It's a good problem to have.

        By the way, 34 degrees is the optimum temperature for storage of 
peaches and apples as well as scion wood.  When our new trees arrive to be 
planted, we keep them at 34 until they go into the ground, which is within 
36 hours.  Apples and peaches stored at 36 degrees will start to break down 
much faster than at 34 and at 40 won't last at all.  40 degrees is the 
temperature at which bacteria will start to develop and any good health 
department would shut anyone down if their refrigerator that held any food 
being served to the public was at 40 degrees or above.  If I can locate an 
article from Fruit Growers News about the latest storage tests done on 
peaches I will post it that covers this exact subject.

        Dennis Norton
        Royal Oak Farm Orchard
        http://www.royaloakfarmorchard.com
          ----- Original Message ----- 
          From: Dave Griffin
          To: North American Fruit Explorers
          Sent: Sunday, January 22, 2006 11:01 PM
          Subject: Re: [NAFEX] grocery store peaches and nectarines


          I have always blamed the poor taste and texture of store peaches 
and nectarines on early picking as well, but it may be worse than just that 
one commercial consideration that accounts for this. Last summer I was able 
to tour a test orchard for new and not so recent but modern commercial 
cultivars and participated in the evaluation of about 20 ripe varieties 
which we picked off the tree. It wasn't long before I began to notice that 
what we were tasting were all very similar to each other and also very much 
like what I had tasted from the grocery store. Let me repeat, we were 
picking these right off the trees. The only time I tasted anything that was 
beginning to be sweet and juicy was when I wandered off to trees that had 
most of their fruit on the ground and then, when I would remark that this 
one was pretty good, I was told not to pay any attention to it as it was 
past. I left the station very disappointed in what I had exp ected to be a 
magnificent day of indulgent peach pleasure, but with my eyes opened to the 
painful truth: it is the large, beautiful, firm, red commercial peaches that 
are bad, not when they pick them. Stopping at a friend's place on the way 
home I had the best peach of the day, by far. His neighbor had a seedling 
tree that came from a Reliance pit and the fruit was much like it - small, 
yellow, fuzzy, sweet, juicy, with amazing flavor and aroma, and so soft you 
couldn't have shipped it across the street. But then why would you have 
wanted to?

          Dave
          MN, zone 4a


            ----- Original Message ----- 
            From: Ginda Fisher
            To: North American Fruit Explorers
            Sent: 1/22/06 10:21:57 PM
            Subject: [NAFEX] grocery store peaches and nectarines




            On Jan 22, 2006, at 10:37 PM, road's end farm wrote:
              On Jan 22, 2006, at 8:46 PM, Spidra Webster wrote:
                For the last several years I've found that store nectarines 
are a
                better bet than peaches.  But the last season or so 
nectarines have
                seemed just as bad.  I hardly got a good peach this summer 
but I think
                it might be due to the fact that I wasn't getting out to the 
Farmer's
                Market or gourmet stores enough.


              Grocery store peaches are almost always terrible as they're 
almost always picked too green. If you wait till they're close enough to 
ripe so that they'll develop full flavor, they're too close to ripe to ship 
very far.


              Many many years ago I did a brief stint picking peaches in 
Washington State, while wandering around the country. We were told that we 
might as well eat the ripe ones, they couldn't be shipped anyway. A 
revelation. Probably one reason I'm farming today.


              --Rivka
              Finger Lakes NY; zone 5


            All in all, I usually prefer grocery store peaches to grocery 
store nectarines.  But it's a crap shoot.  The best "peach" I ever had was a 
nectarine several years ago, and this year we got a batch of terrific 
nectarines.  We also got some really excellent peaches form the local 
produce place, though.  Even the locally grown ones vary a lot.  they were 
only excellent for a week and a half, both earlier and later they were just 
so-so.  I'm sure the local farmers grow more than one type, and I'd guess 
that only one cultivar was both an excellent cultivar and also arrived ripe 
in the store.


            Ginda
            eastern Mass., zone 6 
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