The season for most Stone Fruits (peaches, nectarines, plums, and prunes) is about over. Now moving to main season for Pome Fruits (apples and pears), and muscadines.
PEACHES: Have picked all the Parade peaches. Still have one variety to go - Fairtime. If Lee didn't knock too many off the trees, should be picking for the next two weeks.
It's been our goal for peaches to have enough freestone varieties so we could provide peaches picked fresh daily from the first week in June until
October 1. With the varieties added last and this year, by the 2013 season we should be there!
APPLES: We are now picking McIntosh, Cortland, Red and Golden Delicious, and Jonagold. Next we will add Empires, Mutsu and Suncrisp.
BARTLETT TYPE PEARS: With these type pears we pick at about 14% sugar. Put in cooler for 2+ weeks for further conversion of starch to sugar. Then place at room temperature to further ripen and sell. Have already picked, ripened and sold several varieties. Now have available delicious Potomacs. Just picked our first commercial crop of Shenandoah. This new variety came out no. 1 in a Clemson Musser Farm varieties growing study.
Some may remember our "Ugly" Bartlett type pear. Haven't had a decent crop for 3 years. This season we do. Will pick in a couple weeks.
ASIAN PEAR APPLES: Still picking; one variety to go - Olympic - and they are huge! Have good inventory of other varieties and sizes.
FIGS AND PLUMS: Crops have all been harvested for this season.
RASPBERRIES: Except for the first to ripen this spring, Black Raspberries, with the heat, drought and Bahiagrass the season has been a major disappointment. Now with the rains and cooler weather, maybe the Heritage will recover and we can harvest some measure of a crop?
 MUSCADINES: They are ripe and we should now be able to pick sizeable quantities daily until first frost
MR. BLACK BEAR: His signs say he visits the orchards daily, eating apples and peaches on the ground. We've run into him in the orchard three times during the past 15 days. The five big "Tom" turkeys are back. See them most every day.
HONEY: Found in talking with local bee keepers that spring weather conditions resulted in about a 50% reduction in honey production this year. With all the replacement hives (18) and the weather, our honey production was off more than 50%. The air bubbles have adequately dissipated so we will start bottling this year's production Thursday. Along with the spring Wildflower honey, we were able to extract about 15 pounds of Sourwood.
FRESH APPLE SAUCE AND APPLE CIDER: Seems like everyone is asking for these products: When are we going to start making? If the "wheels don't fall off the wagon" we will make the first apple sauce this Friday, September 9 and apple cider, Friday, September 16. We'll also try to start making apple butter next week.
SWEET CORN: Will be available 1 or 2 more weeks.
TOMATOES: Maybe 6 more weeks.
Hopefully Lee will end the drought and along with it finally much cooler fall type weather. It's apple season and we have a good crop. Look forward to seeing you real soon and often!
Dick Perdue
 RETAIL FARM MARKET HOURS
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday,
10:00am til 5:30pm
Sunday 12:30pm til 6:00pm
CLOSED Monday and Tuesday
FARM ADDRESS FOR INTERNET DIRECTIONS AND MAP
2400 S.C. Hwy 11
Travelers Rest, S.C. 29690
See Map
Retail market phone: (864) 895-0608
View past newsletters, including the first newsletter of the season, and print out our fruit ripening charts online anytime at http://carolinafarmers.com/perdue/.
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