Peaches & Nectarines Scream Summertime Goodness!
Peach & Nectarine Season – Second week of August to late September, but can move by as much as 2 weeks either direction. To be sure you never miss your favorite fruit season, be sure to sign up for our What’s Picking Email Alerts.
Our Peach & Nectarine Season
Our peach and nectarine season here in central MA runs from the second week in August to early September, depending on weather.
Our peach season starts with blueberry season and ends during apple season.
Our Peach & Nectarine Varieties
Yes, our peaches are better than Southern peaches- Southerners have told me so! We grow white and yellow fleshed peaches that get as large as softballs. We also grow yellow nectarines, like peaches but with smooth fuzz free skin and more intense flavor! Come enjoy the juiciest peaches you’ll ever find.
Have you ever had a donut peach? They are full of amazing peach flavor in a squat package!
How We Grow Peaches
We grow our peaches & nectarines of Quad-V style trees so that we can produce lots of fruit close to the ground. Easier picking young and old!
Winter / Early Spring:
Peaches only grow fruit on new wood, so for the health of the tree and for
“Shade is the enemy for peaches and leads to weak wood,” said Clements. Reduce shade at the top to keep the lower wood strong. Remove all dead wood as it can carry Brown Rot.
Spring:
Thinning the peach blossoms.
Compost and mulch
Summer:
Pick
Peach Delights from our Farm Store & Kitchen Menu
🍑 PYO Peaches & Nectarines Experience 🍑
Where to go: Find parking in our large, easy and free lot. Our peach and nectarine orchards are entered from our East and West Entrance, depending on where the fruit is ready for picking at the time of your visit – look for our signs directing you to the correct entrance.
How to Pay: At our Field Entrance you will purchase your PYO Field Admission. We accept cash, MC, Visa, Discover, Amex and SNAP cards.
Getting into the Field: Enjoy a walk in our beautiful grounds or take a wagon ride to the picking area. Occasionally picking fields are only accessible by foot but if you require a ride, please ask and we will do our very best to accommodate
Timing: Peach and Nectarine picking takes, on average 1 hour, depending on the age of pickers and how much fruit you are looking to pick. A perfect amount of time to pick some fresh-from-the-field fruit and then grab an ice cream and visit the animals.
- Wear closed-toed shoes
- Wear sunscreen
- Sunglasses and/or a hat
- Bring or Purchase water
Q. Why do you direct me to a specific section of the field?
A. Our goal is always to provide the best berries possible! One way to accomplish this goal is to have people pick out rows, one by one. That way the next person always has an abundance of berries to pick.
Q. Why do I have to ask an Harvest Guide if I want to move rows?
A. Our Harvest Guides are responsible for getting the entire field picked and keep track of what still needs to be picked. By asking where to go you enable our Guides to keep track of where needs to be picked and what is now finished for the day.
How to Pick Peaches & Nectarines
- Look for the absence of green skin/background color – any green will have changed to yellow (or white if it is white flesh peach) when the peach is tree-ripe; if there is still some green skin, let the peach stay on the tree to ripen more
- Bright red-orange skin color is a good sign of ripeness, however, it depends on the variety – some are very red-orange, some less so; a fully yellow/white background (no green) is still the best indicator of tree-ripeness on peaches and nectarines that don’t have as much red-orange color
- If you must squeeze the peach to assess ripeness, don’t squeeze hard that will result in an unsightly bruise.
- Larger peaches ripen first and peaches in the tops of the trees also ripen first
- A ripe peach will separate from the tree easily; if the peach is difficult to pick leave it on the tree to ripen longer
Once you get your peaches and nectarines home, here is the proper way to handle and fully ripen them:
- Do not put the peaches in the sun or a hot room or car trunk – they will not ripen evenly
- Do not put them in the refrigerator unless you want them to not ripen
- Put The Peaches on newspaper or paper towels in a single layer not touching each other
- Check to see as they start to soften by feeling them gently – don’t push hard on them or they will bruise
- when the fruit is soft, they are ripe and juicy, so ENJOY! Note this may take several days
Whether you want to pick your own or visit our store for Farm-Picked fruit, we are sure you will love our fresh, ripe peaches that drip down your chin and make your hands sticky-sweet with juice.
Fun Facts About Peaches & Nectarines
Unlike other tree fruits, it is not necessary to wait for peaches to soften before they are tree ripe.
Freestone Peaches & Nectarines means the stone (pit) separates easily from the flesh of the fruit. Making it easier to cut up the fruit for baking or canning.
