On October 27 last year, an unseasonably early winter storm hit Colorado’s Western Slope. In one night, temperatures dropped from the 70s down to single digits, devastating many farmers’ peach trees and their yields for this years’ Boulder County Farmers Market.
“It was a different kind of freeze last year,” says Joe Burtness, farmer at Morton’s Organic Orchards in Palisade, Colorado. “Most of the time, we don’t have freezes that lose trees. A fall freeze like that hasn’t occurred for decades.”
Trees drop leaves when the base of a leaf stem seals itself off from the rest of the branch. Though stems naturally harden off in cooler weather, with sudden freezes, they don’t have the time to turn colors first. The result isn’t just a loss of beauty.
“We had some early freezes when the trees didn’t turn red and yellow, just green and dead,” says Brian Coppom, Boulder County Farmers Market’s executive director. “They didn’t have time to harden in low temperatures throughout the winter, and the result is a lot of them die.”
Farmers are typically more concerned about frequent spring freezes. Many have machines to heat their tree blossoms to adequate temperatures, especially in late spring when buds have grown and their threshold for cold has shrunk.
“When we get a late freeze that drops to 24 or 23 degrees, we end up losing the crop,” Joe says. “A few degrees can mean a lot.”
October 2020’s freeze came after one in April earlier that year, when most farmers lost 90 percent of their peach crop. Though a third freeze early this spring wasn’t helpful after October’s temperature drop, farmers will still sell thousands of pounds of ripe peaches at Boulder County Farmers Markets.
“I don’t know that the customers will see the impacts of that October freeze,” Brian says, besides the fact that peaches will arrive at the market a bit late. Instead of hitting stands in early- and mid-June, this year’s crop will show up in late June and be available throughout August.
Because the season’s temperature swing was particularly brutal on the southern Western Slopes, farmers with a smaller peach crop have chosen to cancel some of their seasonal CSA offerings and other contracts in order to focus on farmers markets.
“The fruit industry is fascinating because it varies with farmers and microclimates,” Brian says. “Every year, there’s some kind of toss up about how the season is going to be. We seem to be getting more and more of these large temperature swings in the fall and spring.”
Sensitivity to temperature remains important throughout a peach’s growing season, as farmers plant up to half a dozen varieties that ripen at different times of the year. Early season cling peaches, named after the fruit that holds onto the pit, kick off the season. Freestone peaches, whose pits fall out easily, hit stands in August and are good for canning and baking pies.
To tell if a peach is ripe, first talk with your farmer and learn about the peach they’re selling, Joe advises. Those that have a little yield to the flesh can be eaten on the ride home or a day or two after. Enjoy harder peaches later in the week. A fully developed peach should be round and without offset seams or oblong features, both of which can occur during an early freeze.
“The peach should have a pleasant peach smell to it,” Brian says. “At the market, you’re almost always sure they’re going to be ripe.” Morton’s Organic Orchards picks peaches on Friday and sells them at Boulder County Farmers Market on Saturday.
“We really keep a close eye on the fruit season and talk to the growers,” Brian says, because fruit draws a lot of customers to the Boulder County Farmers Market, giving business to other stands. “No one’s going to be scared of buying peaches and not knowing what to do with them. Fruit is a huge attracter, and that affects everyone at the market.”
