Fruit Calendar
Peaches
​​​June​
Early Glo
Garnet Beauty
Glo Haven
Topaz
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July
White Giant
Sugar Giant
Early Jones
John Boy
Sun Haven
Sun Hi​
August​
Klondike
Loring
White Lady
Apples
​Late June/
Early July​
June Transparent
Lodi​​​​​​​​​​​
July​
Summer Rambo
Ginger Gold
August​
Gala
Honey Crisp
Macintosh
Red Empire
September​
Golden Delicious
Red Delicious
Northern Spy
JonaGold
Jonathan
Prima
Grimes Golden​​
October​
York
Rome
Winesap
Henley Gold
Black Twig
Peach Varieties
We normally have more than 15 varieties of peaches here at the Orchard. All of them are great for eating fresh or baking in your favorite dishes!
Yellow vs. White
Yellow-flesh peaches are traditional, tangy-tasting, all-around peaches. They are best for canning and cooking in addition to eating.
White-flesh peaches originated in Asia, and there has been a huge surge in their popularity in recent years. White flesh peaches are sweeter and have lower acidity than yellow peaches, making their sweetness even more notable! They can be used for cooking, but are best just to eat. Be sure to try both white and yellow peaches when you visit us at the Shed!
Yellow Peaches
Bisco
Much like the Jones peach, it is yellow inside and out and is good for canning slices or eating fresh.
Early Glo ("Earliglo")
An old standby, early ripening clingstone peach with a beautiful blush.
Early Jones and Late Jones
Another large, yellow peach with a pointed tip. They are perfect for canning slices.
Encore
As the name implies, Encore peaches are the last-picked peaches of the season. Very nice all-around peach.
Garnet Beauty
Large, early, and delicious. Yellow-fleshed fruit features golden skin with a smooth red blush. Early-bearing tree produces clouds of pink blooms in spring followed by loads of juicy, medium-large peaches in summer. Enjoy fruit in pies, cobblers, and fresh off the tree! Semi-freestone. Ripens in July.
Glo Haven
Much like the Early Glo.
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John Boy and John Boy II
Yellow peaches with deep red veining. They're wonderful for making beautiful preserves with a very peachy color.
Loring
A large yellow peach with a hint on red blush. It has very firm, melting yellow flesh with excellent flavor. It is freestone and ripens in mid-season.​
Sun Haven
A nice yellow-skinned peach with a dark-red blush. Very sweet.
Sun Hi
There may be prettier peaches, but few with more exceptional qualities for canning or freezing. Sun Hi is one of our three most popular varieties.
Topaz
Perhaps one of the most attractive peaches in appearance, the Topaz peach also has a very aromatic smell when it ripens. As one of the most coveted varieties, and with its picture perfect appearance, wonderful aromatic smell, and heavenly sweet taste, it is a freestone peach as well.
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White Peaches
Klondike
A large, pink-skinned peach with white flesh. Full flavor.
White Giant and Sugar Giant
If you like white peaches, you’ll LOVE the Giants. These peaches live up to their names. They’re super sweet and one of the largest peaches from our orchard, making them the prettiest peaches we grow. They’re also freestone! Could it get any better?
White Lady
Among the best of the new low-acid, high-sugar, fresh market white peaches. The red-skinned fruits are medium to large, very firm, and is a freestone.​
Clingstone vs. Freestone
A clingstone peach sticks to the pit, and a ripe freestone peach easily separates from the pit. Don’t turn your nose up to a clingstone peach just yet! Because clingstone peaches are only available early in the peach season, they are often smaller, making them ideal for pickling, making spiced peaches, or for the perfect snack.
Although freestone peaches are easier to process in the kitchen, clingstone peaches still have many practical uses. They are great for eating and are generally larger, making them ideal for baking and canning.
Whether it’s a clingstone or freestone peach, all of our peaches are selected and grown for sweetness and flavor.
How to Store Peaches
Store peaches on the counter at room temperature until they are the ripeness you prefer. When ripe, peaches should be stored in the crisper bin of your refrigerator where they will keep for up to five days. Have more peaches on hand than you can eat or bake right away? Peel and slice them, lay them on a baking tray and place in the freezer for a few hours until they're frozen. Transfer the peach wedges to a resealable plastic bag and freeze until ready to use. They'll keep at least 6 months (longer in a free-standing freezer) and are perfect to use in baking.
Tip: To quicken the ripening process, place peaches in a paper bag.
Apple Varieties
We're proud to offer over 25 varieties of apples here at the Orchard. Here are some of the popular ones:
Black Twig
Fruit large to medium with green to yellow skin, flushed red. Flesh yellow, very firm. The ultimate in a tart apple. Tannic juice adds kick to sweet or hard cider.
Cameo
Fruit is medium to large size with a crisp, creamy white flesh and a tangy flavor that seems to get better in storage. Keeps very well.
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Empire
Dark red with heavy, waxy bloom. Creamy white juicy, moderately subacid flesh. High dessert quality also good for cider.
Fuji
Tall, rectangular, medium size fruit. Yellowish green skin with an orangish red flush and darker stripes. Darker blush on sun side. Crisp, juicy slightly subacid white flesh with outstanding texture. May require up to 200 days to mature. Good keeper.
Gala
Excellent for fresh eating. A very pretty, medium size, conical to round fruit with yellow skin patterned with bright orange-red. Firm, juicy, fine textured, yellow white flesh. Sweet slightly tart flavor. Hangs well on tree.
Ginger Gold
Can be picked green but will turn an attractive yellow with a blush if allowed to hang on the tree. Uniform fruit size. Keeps up to 6 months in storage.
Golden Delicious
Large, conic, golden yellow fruit. Firm, crisp, juicy, flavorful flesh. Mild, sweet distinctive flavor. High quality all purpose. Shrivels in storage. Requires gentle picking, and bruises easily.
Granny Smith
Firm, green skin, with slight pink blush if cool nights precede harvest. Firm, crisp, medium grain with bright white flesh that resists browning when sliced. Strong tartness, resembling that of a lemon. Excellent for eating, in baked pies, and is a great cider apple.
Grimes Golden
Multiple uses.....superior eating apple, great cider, keeps well. Medium to large, yellow fruit. Flesh is crisp, fine-grained, and juicy, yellow flesh. Rich, distinctive, aromatic spice flavor.
Henley Gold
Multiple uses, superior eating apple, great cider, keeps well. Medium to large clear yellow fruit. Flesh is crisp, fine-grained, and juicy yellow flesh. Rich, distinctive, aromatic spice flavor.
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Honey Crisp
Hardy substitute for Golden Delicious developed especially for cold northern areas. Golden Delicious flavor, Haralson hardiness. Medium to large golden to greenish fruit with very smooth finish and reddish bronze blush. Flavor is sweeter and more bland than Golden Delicious. High quality. Superior storage qualities.
JonaGold
Large fruit striped red over bright yellow. Firm, crackling, juicy, slightly tart, flesh. Superb, rich, full flavor. Finest dessert and eating quality. Good cooking properties. Will store in common refrigerator for 3 months.
Jonathan
Good eating and keeping apple. Medium-sized attractive fruit, striped red with high colour in spots. Flesh juicy and crisp. flavor refreshing and subacid.
June Transparent
First apple of the season. Green, tart, and breaks down well, making a smooth applesauce.
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Lodi
An attractive yellow early-season apple with a sharp flavor, best used for cooking.
MacIntosh
Fruit beautiful deep red color, size variable. Flesh white, firm, tender, very juicy, flavor characteristically aromatic, perfumed, subacid.
Mutzu
Good eating apple, first class cider and sauce. Green fruit ripens yellow.
Northern Spy
Large, round, often flattened greenish-yellow fruit flushed and striped pinkish red with a delicate bloom, and occasionally russet patches. Fine grained, rather firm, very tender, crisp, juicy, yellowish flesh. Tart, aromatic, subacid flavor. Excellent all purpose apple except not good for drying. Remarkably fresh after long storage.
Prima
Medium to large fruit with dark red blush over yellow. Juicy white flesh with mild subacid flavor.
Red Delicious
Most purchased apple variety in the United States. Deep red skin covers a sweeter flavored apple.
Rome
Very round fruit, medium to very large, with handsomely striped to almost solid red, thick skin. A favorite for baking and drying, and outstanding as a baked apple. Inferior for eating due to dryish flesh and very mild, unremarkable flavor. A good keeper on and off the tree. Once a major commercial variety, now losing market share.
Smokehouse
Large, flattish shape, yellow flushed and striped red. Flesh crisp, yellowish, moderately fine-grained. Fresh cider flavor. Very good quality cooking, eating, and baking apple. Keeps well through March.
Summer Rambo
Attractive, large, brightly striped, red fruit. Breaking, crisp, exceptionally juicy flesh. Subacid, aromatic flavor.
Virginia Gold
Bright yellow fruit with pink blush. Crisp juicy flesh with flavors similar to Newtown Pippin. Should be stored to reach peak flavor.
Winesap
Medium sized, round, dark red fruit with crisp, juicy yellow flesh with a spicy, vinous flavor and aroma.
York
Good cooking/baking apple and excellent keeper.