Gettin' Peaches

We had a great trip out to visit the Kropp Brothers and Brant and Carol Harrison (of Kokopelli Produce) out on the Western Slope last weekend, and we came back with some REALLY exceptional peaches. Many late peach varieties are our favorites and, as we've mentioned before, they are often on the wane in commercial orchards. Summer Ladies, JH Hales, and Cresthavens are all late season varieties that produce exceptional freestone fruits with a sweetness and depth of flavor that is totally unmatched by earlier season varieties. Unfortunately, as demand for peaches wanes with the end of summer, many growers are tearing out older, tastier peach varieties and replacing them with earlier-producing fruit. The margins are generally better for them, but the flavor just can't compare. We hope that our efforts to buy up late season varieties will help support more of them here in Colorado. 

Here's the photo tour of a Western Slope peach visit: enjoy!

Mt. Sopris on Sunday morning, heading down to McClure PassPast the AspensMoses - MM Local's Chosen truck - sittin pretty on top of McClure Pass... Down to the North Fork Valley to First Fruits!

Arriving at the historic First Fruits Barn right outside of downtown Paonia
All the way to our peaches at First Fruits!MM Local's pears: ripening up in the old barn till they are ready to can. Pears usually spend about 3 weeks off the tree ripening before they are ready to rollAnd even more pears waiting on trees all the way out of townAnd off to Palisade and the Front Range - with Paonia's beautiful mountain backdrop behind us.