Fruit Varieties

the 2020 fruit season

Pie Cherries  2020

Montmorency red tart pie cherries are the very best for cooking and drying. The crop looks good for 2020 and we expect to start filling orders and allowing picking July 6

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Peaches

The 2020 crop was damaged by spring frost.  Some varieties have a good crop, some fair and some poor as noted in the list below. 

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 2020.  Each of these peach, nectarine and plum varieties normally ripen over a period of 10-14 days.  

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

2. Red Globe Fair 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.

3. Gene Elberta Fair August 16  Sweet, superb flavor.  Great for canning, freezing and fresh eating. Similar to Elberta in texture and size, freestone when fully ripe.  Medium size. 

4. Blushingstar Good August 20  Sweet and tangy white flesh.  Very good for drying. Medium size fruit. Freestone.

5. Elberta Fair August 28  Long time favorite for canning. Easy to peel. Also wonderful for freezing and jam. Beautiful yellow flesh. Smooth texture. Medium size. Freestone.

6. Hale Fair August 31  Great for fresh eating. Popular for canning and freezing. Firm texture. Large round fruit. Freestone.

7. O’Henry Fair September 14  Exceptional flavor. Wonderful for fresh eating. Good for canning and freezing. Nice firm texture. Medium size. Freestone. Good keeper. Last of the season!

8. Snow Giant  Poor September 14 Very sweet, mild white flesh.  Great for fresh eating.  Good for freezing and drying.  Juicy, smooth texture.  Large size.  Freestone.  Good keeper.  Last of the season!

Nectarines

Very few nectarines made it through the spring frost.

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

1. Firebright August 4 Extreme flavor! Tart. Great for eating fresh, jam and pies. Medium size. Semi-freestone.

2. Grand Sweet August 20 Super sweet mild flavor. Great for eating fresh. Medium size. Clingstone.

3. Arctic Jay  August 20  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.

5. Zee Glo  September 14  Very Good flavor. Good for eating fresh. Medium to large size. Clingstone.

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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. Early Italian Prune August 30 Very sweet. Good for eating fresh. Good for canning. Small size. Freestone. 

4. Flavor King Pluot September 14  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. 

5. Dapple Dandy Pluot September 9  Delicious Tangy-sweet flavor. Great for eating fresh. Wonderful dried or for jam. Medium size.

6. Flavor Grenade Pluot September 14  Very sweet.  Slightly crunchy, yet juicy with flavor that explodes in your mouth!

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

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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 25 

2. Zestar!  August 5

3. Gingergold  August 5

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

5. Gala  August 22

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 7 (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. Golden Delicious  September 28  (December 15) Sweet flavor, light crisp texture. Great for fresh eating. Popular for applesauce.  Medium size. Good keeper.

10. Jonathan  September 25  (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.

11. Jonagold  September 26 (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 30  (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 September 30 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  September 30 Slighty tart mild flavor. Good for eating fresh. Wonderful for baked apples! Makes a smooth mild applesauce. Large size. Easy to pick.

15. Mutsu  September 30 

16. 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.

17. 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.