Some South Carolina Peach Growers Report Small, Later Crop

“We just don’t have any volume of peaches. We thought we had 50% to 60% of a crop, but it’s going to be 10% to 15% of a crop,” Arthur Black, owner of Black’s Peaches in York, SC, tells the York Enquirer Herald. “We had a bunch of peaches, but the seeds were dead and they just buttoned up and didn’t grow. We thought we had peaches, and we didn’t.”

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While a late-spring freeze took its toll on Black’s operation, others in Western York County, SC, fared better, based on location.

“Those last frosts we had were just real marginal. It just depended on the location of the orchard. It go could either way,” Bob Hall, owner of Bush-N-Vine in York, SC, told the York Enquirer. “It was a borderline night. Some orchards got hit worse than others. In a low-margin night like that, all it takes is one or two degrees difference in getting damage or not.”

Ben Smith, owner of The Peach Tree in York, SC, said that although the quantity is limited, the growing season brought ideal conditions.

“Several varieties didn’t get but a peck to the tree when they should have gone a full bushel. When they don’t go but a peck to the tree, that’s not enough to supply my stand.” Smith told the York Enquirer. “The quality is great, and the size is good because of rain. How long it’s going to last, I can’t tell, because some varieties have a full crop on them and some varieties have a third of a crop.”

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