Fruit Varieties

the 2021 fruit season

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Peaches  revised 8/12

Most varieties set a good crop and the quality is looking great. 

All of these peach varieties taste great! They are juicy and delicious when picked ripe. All of them can be eaten fresh, cooked, canned, dried or frozen. The following are some notable qualities about each variety and their approximate timeframe for 2021.  Each of these peach, nectarine and plum varieties normally ripen over a period of 10-14 days.  

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  1. Redhaven  August 2.   Excellent first of the season peach! Great for fresh eating. Good for canning and freezing. Medium size. Semi-freestone. Also PF-13.

  2. Red Globe  August 12   Great for fresh eating. Popular for canning and freezing. Smooth texture. Large size. Freestone. Similar varieties in our orchard: Coralstar, PF 19, PF 24, Glohaven.

  3. Gene Elberta  August 18  Sweet, superb flavor.  Great for canning, freezing and fresh eating. Winner of the Kelley family taste test narrowly edging out standard Elberta for best canned peach.  Similar to Elberta in texture and size, freestone when fully ripe, but sometimes clings.  Medium size. 

  4. Blushingstar  August 18  Sweet and tangy white flesh.  Very good fresh and dried. Medium size fruit. Freestone.

  5. Elberta  August 30  Long time favorite for canning. Easy to peel. Also wonderful for freezing and jam. Beautiful yellow flesh. Smooth texture. Medium size. Freestone.  Early Improved is yellow with red blush.  Standard is more greenish with blush and a few days later.

  6. Hale  September 1  Great for fresh eating. Popular for canning and freezing. Firm texture. Large round fruit. Freestone.

  7. O’Henry  September 13  Exceptional flavor. Wonderful for fresh eating. Good for canning and freezing. Nice firm texture. Medium size. Freestone. Good keeper. Last of the season!

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Nectarines

Very good crop, but lots of scarring on the fruit this year.

These are all great for fresh eating.  Try canning or drying the freestones.


  1. Firebright August 7. Extreme flavor! Tangy. Great for eating fresh, jam and pies. Medium size. Semi-freestone.

  2. Grand Sweet August 18 Super sweet mild flavor. Great for eating fresh. Medium size. Clingstone.

  3. Arctic Jay  August 18  Excellent white flesh nectarine. Great for eating fresh and drying Good for canning/cooking. Medium size. Freestone.

  4. Fantasia  August 28  Great traditional flavor. Outstanding for eating fresh. Good for canning/cooking. Medium size. Freestone.  Flavortop is similar, but a few days earlier.

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Plums and Pluots

An excellent crop this year

  1. Dapple Jack Pluot August 21   Delicious sweet flavor. Great for fresh eating, drying, jam.  Medium size.

  2. Catalina Plum August 27 Very good flavor. Great for fresh eating. Wonderful dried! Medium size. 

  3. Flavor King Pluot September 16  The King of Flavor.  Sweet and tangy with a Santa Rosa plum flavor.  Great for eating fresh. Good for drying and jam. Medium size. Freestone. 

  4. Dapple Dandy Pluot September 16  Delicious Tangy-sweet flavor. Great for eating fresh. Wonderful dried or for jam. Medium size.

  5. Flavor Grenade Pluot September 16 Very sweet.  Slightly crunchy, yet juicy with flavor that explodes in your mouth!

  6. Angelino Plum October 5 Good for eating fresh. Firm texture. Medium size.

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Pears

Not just Bartlett!

Pears come in a wide range of shapes colors and flavors.  You will see some of these interesting varieties in the Barn from August through October.  Ripening pears can be tricky, but in general set them out at room temperature and look for a little softening at the neck and other subtle signs like color and aroma.  


  1. ​Morettini  August 16  Sweet, juicy, yellow when ripe.

  2. Sunrise  August 21  Sweet, juicy, yellow when ripe.  Slightly sweeter than Bartlett when canned and dried.

  3. Bartlett  September 6  Sweet, juicy, yellow when ripe.  The standard for canning.

  4. Magness  September 13  Very sweet, mild flavor.  Non-gritty.  Greenish, russeted appearance.

  5. Blakes Pride  September 13  Sweet, juicy very good pear flavor.  Yellow when ripe.

  6. Harrow Sweet  September 26  Very sweet and juicy.  Long skinny neck, ripe when starting to turn yellow.  Stores well into winter.

  7. D'Anjou  September 26  Great pear to save in refrigeration up to Thanksgiving.  Light green when ripe.

Apples

An excellent crop this year!

All of these apple varieties are suitable for cooking, fresh eating, and juice.  Each apple has its own unique characteristics and the following are some notable qualities.  Beginning Picking dates and (last date of availability from cold storage) are listed below.


  1. Lodi  July 26

  2. Zestar!  August 5  Delicious sweet-tart flavor.  Light, crisp texture.

  3. Gingergold  August 5  Sweet, firm, dense.

  4. Sansa  August 10 Sweet, fruity flavor. Similar appearance to Gala

  5. Gala  August 30

  6. Jonamac  August 30 Very similar to McIntosh, but sweeter and milder.  Excellent for pie and applesauce. Good for eating fresh.

  7. Honeycrisp  September 7  Super fresh eating and drying apple.

  8. McIntosh  September 14 (October 1) Unique tart flavor. Excellent for pie and applesauce. Cooks into a smooth sauce.  Good for eating fresh.  Medium size.  Good keeper, but texture softens after 1 or 2 weeks.

  9. Jonathan  September 24  (October 31) Tart flavor.  Crisp white juicy flesh.   Long-time favorite for cooking. Also wonderful for juice.  Medium size. Stays crisp for about two weeks.

  10. Golden Delicious  September 25  (December 15) Sweet flavor, light crisp texture. Great for fresh eating. Popular for applesauce.  Medium size. Good keeper.

  11. Jonagold  September 25 (December 15) Nice blend of sweet and tart flavors.   Crisp and very juicy. Great for fresh eating. Good for cooking. Large size. Stays crisp for a month.

  12. Empire September 28  (October 31) This McIntosh-Red Delicious cross is a nice sweet, mild eating apple.  Makes a smooth applesauce much like McIntosh, but milder and sweeter.  Medium size.

  13. Red Delicious October 1 Sweet, mild flavor.   Ours is an old-fashioned variety with less color and more flavor. Good for fresh eating. Good for applesauce and juice. Medium size. Not the best keeper.

  14. Rome  October 5 Slighty tart mild flavor. Good for eating fresh. Wonderful for baked apples! Makes a smooth mild applesauce. Large size. Easy to pick.

  15. Mutsu  October 5  Sweet, juicy and delicious.  Large.

  16. Winesap October 19  Very firm, flavorful heirloom apple.  

  17. Fuji October 22 Our most popular apple. Very sweet flavor. Dense crisp texture. Fantastic for eating fresh and dried. Good for juice.  Medium size.  Excellent keeper. Stays crisp for months.

  18. Granny Smith October 22 Very tart flavor. Nice firm texture. Exceptional for eating fresh, if you like a tart apple. A favorite for pies. Good for juice, applesauce and drying. Large size. Good keeper.

  19. Goldrush  October 30  Firm, dense, crisp apple.  Very tart when picked, but becomes sweeter in storage.  Great keeper.


Pie Cherries  2021

Montmorency red tart pie cherries are the very best for cooking and drying. The crop looks good for 2021 and we expect to start filling orders and allowing picking July 5

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