Peaches in New England can be a sporadic crop. They typically bloom a week or so before the apples making them more susceptible to damage from late spring frosts. But peaches have another weather villain which apples don’t. Prolonged periods of extremely cold winter weather, usually accompanied by strong winds, frequently desiccate the peach fruiting buds effectively destroying their ability to bloom. However, when the weather has been good to us, and the peaches have been carefully thinned and minimally sprayed, the crop can be so beautiful looking that it’s hard to keep the fruit stand stocked with these delicate, tasty fruits.
There are presently 33 peach trees at Bear Path Farm distributed among 11 varieties which produce fruit from about the tenth of August to the middle of September. Some of our favorite varieties include: New Haven, Flamin Fury, Madison, Harrow Beauty and Bellaire. When peaches are picked within a day or so of being tree ripe, there is absolutely no comparison in both flavor and texture to what is normally sold at most supermarkets.
Our 36 apple trees are distributed among 17 varieties which produce fruit from early September to late October. We have an interesting mix of old fashioned varieties including: Gravenstein, Golden Russet, Northern Spy, Esopus Spitzenburg (Thomas Jefferson’s favorite apple) and Westfield Seek-No-Further. Additional varieties and more traditional favorites include: Macoun, Cortland, Idared, Empire, Ruby John and Redcort.
All of our trees are organically fertilized (with compost of course) and are minimally sprayed to protect from insects (plum curculio in particular) and fungal diseases (scab and brown rot).
When the fruit season approaches, please call (413-665-2894) or check our web site to find out the price and availability of this year’s crops.
