Late freezes and extended drought have been hard on all fruit crops in the last few years, but 2012 has shaped up to be one of the best in quite some time. Fall rains, chilly, but not brutal winter weather and timely spring rains have resulted in a great crop of high quality peaches in the Texas Hill Country this year. An early bloom left growers on the edges of their chairs for a few weeks, but the weather stayed warm and sunny resulting in an early, productive harvest. This season has varieties ripening early and many of our premier varieties are ripening together. For the first time in recent memory, five different varieties represented the five top entries in the one-eight bussel contest. ‘Red Globe’, ‘Bounty’, Cary Mac’, ‘Loring’ and ‘White Lady’, all were ripe in a local orchard and all had the uniformity and quality that led to the ribbons. Competition was very tough this year.
