Last updated on March 30th, 2016 at 03:45 pm
The 2016 Georgia peach season is expected to be outstanding. Having just rounded the spring chill successfully, the state’s peach crop is shaping up to be sweeter than in years past, according to the Georgia Peach Council (GPC).
“Our tree’s quest to accumulate cold hours got off to a slow start in December, but Mother Nature provided just what we needed with a very cold January and February,” said Kent Hoots, grower coordinator of the GPC. “Just like the feeling you have after a good night’s sleep, our trees received the right amount of cold hours to be rested and ready to thrive. Plenty of ‘beauty rest,’ combined with expected searing hot summertime temperatures, has put the summer of 2016 on notice as an anticipated sweet and flavorful Georgia peach season to remember.”
Peach connoisseurs from around the country are anticipating the experience of tasting sweet Georgia Peaches this summer. It’s looking like their patience will pay off soon with Georgia Peaches being harvested in time for Memorial Day and running all the way through the end of summer, the GPC reports.
“Every year we wait for all of the elements that go into growing flavor-filled peaches to be in sync and the stars have aligned this year—2016 is setting up to be the best crop peach growers in Georgia have seen in years,” said Duke Lane III, president of the GPC.
Approximately 10,000 acres of Georgia peach farms stretch across the famous Fort Valley plateau. Ninety percent of Georgia Peaches are grown in this region, which accounts for superior quality peaches. Consistent temperatures, mineral-rich red clay soils and high humidity are perfect ingredients for super-sweet peaches. With more than 140 years of farming Georgia Peaches, the land itself has helped Georgia earn the title of the “Peach State.”
“Our families have been blessed with the opportunity to grow our peaches in Fort Valley,” said Will McGehee, director of marketing of the GPC. “While it is the perfect place to grow, there is still an art to growing the best peaches—our families have been growing Georgia Peaches for five generations and passing down techniques they have mastered—it’s all about the flavor and freshness.”
Georgia is known throughout the world for its famous peaches. Each year, the state produces more than 80 million pounds of the fruit between mid-May and mid-August. Georgia Peaches are high in fiber, potassium and vitamins A and C.
