By Clint Thompson
Alabama’s peach crop is far below what some growers are accustomed to. But many producers are thankful just to have a crop, says Alabama farmer Jeremy Calvert. A mid-March freeze event froze out some of the state’s peaches.
“Peaches, I think, can be safely said for the state of Alabama, they’re pretty good. There’s probably something like a 40% crop on peaches. One night we got down to 26 degrees (Fahrenheit) for about six hours and we were just too far along to be getting that cold,” Calvert said. “We’re lucky to have anything. The ground was froze the next morning. We’re lucky to have anything at all.
Peach trees that had already started blooming were especially vulnerable to the low temperatures on March 17-18. Early-season peaches were expected to be sporadic as a result.
“Basically, we’ve got one early variety that’s got a full crop, and then it’s kind of sporadic until we get the mid-season stuff,” Calvert said. “Once we get the mid-season, there are several varieties that have got a full crop. And then after that, there’s a fair amount of peaches but not a full crop on any of the varieties except maybe one or two.
“Out of like 40 varieties, we’ve probably got four or five that’s got a full crop, I would say. We’ll be over in June before we pick very many peaches.
“That’s the best I can understand right now from everybody I’ve talked to (though), everybody feels pretty lucky to have anything.”