By Clint Thompson
One North Georgia peach producer is a little more than a month away from starting his harvest season.
Drew Echols, owner of Jaemor Farms, could not be more optimistic about this year’s crop.
“I think it’s going to be good. I feel good about it,” Echols said. “Depending on the varieties, we’ve got fruit that is dime size down to a size of a pencil eraser. Right now, it looks good.
“It was just a real good winter overall. It’s just always good for it to be cold when it’s supposed to be and warm when it’s supposed to be.”
Adequate Chilling
The success of a peach crop largely depends on temperatures being cold in the winter. Fruits, like peaches, require chill hours to mature. The required chill hours depend on the specific variety growers choose to plant. Some may require as little as 500 chill hours, while others may need as many 800. Chill hours are typically tracked until about Feb. 14.
This year’s winter temperatures were normal, and growers avoided an abnormal temperature rise in February.
“We stayed really cold way into January. February warmed up a little bit, not as bad as it had the last couple of years. The past couple of years we’ve seen a tremendous uptick in temperatures in February. I hate seeing a warm February,” Echols said. “It was a moderate February, not warm but not severely cold, either. It worked out for us.”
Echols said his harvest season usually starts around May 20 or so. This year should be no different.
“We’re pretty much on time as far as the season goes. Middle Georgia may be a week or 10 days ahead for what would be considered a normal schedule. Up here, we’re either on time or just a few days ahead,” Echols said. “I feel pretty good about it right this second.”