Some more info

Here is a link that might be useful: Blog post

#2 for 2014 was the Arctic Supreme peach. I have one and it's a good peach but it's only SEMI-freestone. To my taste it's not as good as a Loring, my favorite peach.

gary

This is nice info, but these are only varieties that Dave Wilson sells. There are far many other varieties that are just as good, if not better.

Yes, it's a great promotional tool! They do sell a lot of different trees, impressive operation. Enough to give us some good fruit to try.

#2 for 2014 was the Arctic Supreme peach. I have one and it's a good peach but it's only SEMI-freestone. To my taste it's not as good as a Loring,

Yes but overall Loring is number 3 and Artic Supreme doesn't even rate. Any one peach could have a good year.
So the long term stats seem to bear out better fruit. O'Henry is number 2, a lot of people would agree that Loring and OHenry for taste are top rate peaches.

Hardly any peaches developed in the east are there, so it doesn't tell us much about them, But we have Scott, so all is good!

This post was edited by Drew51 on Thu, Nov 20, 14 at 17:09

But Scott's no big fan of Loring, which is an Eastern peach. Has lots of close relatives (sports). Jonboy's one of them and it's my bread and butter peach.

Thanks for posting Drew. A lot of food for thought.

I don't understand how Harken ranks #1 overall for peaches. I've grown Harken here for years (I know it's true to type because it matches the ripening time and description) but it's not my best peach here. I would place Redhaven, which ripens a week later, above Harken in terms of eating quality. Harken is a very furry peach. I don't like all that fuzz in my mouth.

It is a very good peach for its window. Because of that, I have about 15 of this variety planted at the farm, but it's not the best quality peach, as grown here.

I wonder how Dave Wilson tests varieties which have such different ripening times. Loring ripens two weeks after Redhaven. Veteran ripens 4 weeks after Redhaven. Gold Dust ripens 2 weeks before Redhaven. How are they able to objectively compare these varieties against one another, I wonder?

I think the rankings are a summation of various tasting sessions throughout the year.

Yeah the rankings mean little really. Red Baron is 13 but everybody who grows it, likes it. Plus it's pretty with double red flowers. I someday want to do a 2 in 1 planting with Red Baron and Double Jewel (pink double flowers). A way to get peaches in the front yard for ornamental value. It fits, the fruit is icing.

I think they only do 3-4 tastings each yr. You'd need one every two weeks from May 1st until October 1st, 10 tastings, to properly evaluate my fruit. Their season is basically as long as mine. I've read the fruit is picked commercial ripe, ie green. So I don't see how it means much to anyone that likes fruit soft ripe.

For two yrs I attended a tasting every week at DWN test block in Reedley, CA. They brought down experimental lines from Zaigers test blocks up north and drove thru the orchard at Reedley. All the experimental lines were green and impossible to judge fruit taste but some were pretty. In the actual orchard I was always searching the trees trying to find something soft enough to taste decent.

This post was edited by fruitnut on Thu, Nov 20, 14 at 20:04

"I don't understand how Harken ranks #1 overall for peaches."

"I wonder how Dave Wilson tests varieties which have such different ripening times."

Olpea I think your 2nd quote explains your first quote. I read one commercial growers blog who attended a tasting/did a score card and he talked about so many of the fruit being under ripe. Perhaps Harken was the dead ripe fruit for the tasting and others were over/under ripe.

Hard to place much value on results that don't match those of each individual member of the board at large. Since 2000 the ratings have come from fruit writing pros (hacks), other low-life media types, and CRFG members (obvious DWN shills). Nothing to see here. :)

I ran my first apple tasting last weekend and it made me realize how hard it is to get fruit at peak ripeness. The latest apples were still starchy and the earlier ones were starting to get mealy. Given commercial growers penchant for picking things so green I'm not surprised the tests are often not very meaningful.

I once went to a tasting at Andy Mariani's place, that was a real tasting as every peach was at near-perfect ripeness (who knows how de did it). It was there that I discovered how good Red Baron was in fact, it was one of my top two from his 50 varieties.

Hman, for the record I have not grown Loring, the only Loring I have had were grown by others. So I can't claim a strong opinion on it.

Scott

Well even though the taste tests might not be that meaningful, we know Zaiger, and DWN as a team have put out some top rate fruit. Even stuff that works here. It's hard to breed an excellent fruit and they have dozens of them.
Plus they offer some old heirlooms, which is super cool.

The million dollar question is plants and truth in what works in one local vs another. An Elberta peach just south of the mason dixon line tastes better that it would much futher north. Blueberries like rabbit eye taste totally different than blueberriest in the pacific north west. I have a theory that plants adapt sometimes to their environment over long periods of time and in some cirucumstances short periods. I have done a trial on strawberries that used to taste amazing in lousisana but where sent to Oregon for 25 years only to come back to Louisiana tasting like a different berry. I think 25 years of runners adapting at a yearly rate changed the berry to suit the pacific north west. Can I revert it back to the best strawberry in the south in 25 years "after 3 years thus far" you can sure bet I am going to try. Then you have micro climates within regions or even specific properties. Fresh Fiji apples can be killer but how often do people get them really ripe to near the point of over ripeness "most people have never had one like that ready to fall off the tree". I am going to try some harder to grow sweet cherries next year along the gulf coast contrary to what people say. People say you can't grow peaches here either, but with new UF varieties we harvested 200 off a 5 year old tree yesterday so to hell with what was done 30 years ago.