SB SWEETS & EATS
BY ELLEN TRICE
Just
peachy
W
hether you select them from a grocery store display, buy them in a peck-sized basket at a roadside vendor or choose them fresh and fragrant from a farmer's market, there is no taste and smell that says summer in the South more than sweet, juicy peaches! Peach season in North Louisiana begins in June. And the most frequently asked questions at the peach displays, “Are these local? Were they grown in Ruston?” “Ruston peaches” are not a particular variety, according to Ed Lester, a veteran farmer known by many for hosting a mega produce stand on the west bank of the Red River in Coushatta. He notes that about 12-15 peach varieties have been tested and proven a good match for our North Louisiana climate. And although there is a ‘Red Ruston’ variety, “Ruston peaches” is more a moniker given to peaches grown in or near Ruston. Peaches trace their roots back to China, eventually finding their way to the United States courtesy of early Spanish explorers who landed in Florida. The easy-to-grow fruit trees spread up the Eastern seaboard and across the southeastern states. Well suited to the milder climates of the South, indigenous farmers and settlers were known to grow the fruit trees individually or in orchards, and peach stones taken along as settlers moving West helped the spread of the sweet-tasting fruit. What happens when weather makes a drastic change from the norm – such as the week-long freeze experienced locally in mid-February? Some varieties take it better than others, according to Mark Wilson of the LSU Ag Center. Peaches benefit from “chilling hours” prior to budding. For trees needing more chilling hours, February’s icebox weather was beneficial. However, for trees with already swelling break buds, the freezing temps were damaging. “All around, we are probably going to see a onefifth reduction in our crop volume, and therefore the peaches may cost a little more.” And the reduced crops may stick around for a while, says Wilson, noting that trees damaged by the
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JUNE 2021
| SBMAG.NET
