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Saturday, Jun. 13, 2009

2009 peach season yields bountiful crop

FORT VALLEY — Peach cobbler. Peach ice cream. Peach wine.

This time of year brings with it the opportunity to partake in the delectable delights that come from the sweet, juicy fruit grown right in Middle Georgia’s backyard.

And this year, the owners of local peach orchards say they’re expecting bountiful crops. Bouncing back from seasons when frost slashed peach crop volumes, local peach growers are looking toward a solid season. An Easter 2007 freeze resulted in the loss of about 55 percent to 60 percent of Peach County’s crop. And last year, freezing temperatures caused the volume of fruit to drop about 50 percent, they said.

But this year is looking better, and the news of a good crop couldn’t come at a more opportune time. The peach will take center stage as Peach County holds the annual Georgia Peach Festival beginning this weekend.

However, many of the people responsible for producing the state’s most celebrated fruit won’t get to enjoy it. They’ll be too busy working. “June is a really good time to be in the peach business,” Al Pearson, owner of Pearson Farm in Fort Valley, said.

Peach picking has been going on at Pearson Farm for the past three weeks. The recent douses of rain haven’t hurt the crop, growers said. When a fruit is 90 percent water as the peach is, Pearson said rain can be a good thing.

“A peach can’t be like a raisin,” Pearson said.

Hotter weather produces the larger, sweeter peaches, and this year there will also be greater volumes of peaches. This time of year produces free-stone peaches, a variety of the fruit that easily detaches from the seed.

The warmer, dry weather also allow for more picking in his orchards. Lately, pickers have been arriving early and working through lunch on Pearson’s hundreds of acres of land.

A similar scene has been unfolding at Lane Southern Orchards in Fort Valley.

Duke Lane III, the business’ president, said May’s rain resulted in the production of more lesser-quality peaches. But since the skies cleared, things have been running much more smoothly, he said.

“We’re just happy to have a good crop this year,” Lane said.

At Dickey Farms in Musella, Robert Dickey III sang the praises of the warm weather and its effects.

So far, the season has brought a bounty of quality peaches, and Dickey looks forward to seeing many more.

“We’re not even halfway through the season yet,” Dickey said.

Peach growers said they anticipate they’ll be busy through August, and all of them said they appreciate the recognition their hard work gets this time of year in Peach County.

“It’s definitely an exciting time,” Lane said.

Information from The Telegraph’s archives was used in this report.

To contact writer Natasha Smith, call 923-3109, extension 236.