Growing Great Fresh Peaches in Georgia: A Short History
Simply nothing compares to the amazing flavor of a farm fresh, perfectly ripe, sweet and juicy peach. There are hundreds of varieties of peaches, 40 of which are typically grown in Georgia, which fall into two main categories; freestone or clingstone.
Freestone peaches are the variety you typically eat right out of the orchard, fresh and as-is. The fruit is easily removed from the seed of the peach. Clingstone peaches are typically used for canning due to the nature of the pit clinging to the fruit. At first it was believed that peaches originated in Persia, hence the botanical name of the peach, Prunus persica.
However it is now believed that China is the original home of the peach. Peaches have been grown in China since around the tenth century B.C. Beautiful ancient Chinese works of art even depict the familiar elegant peach. Spaniards are responsible for bringing peaches to the New World, and colonists found peaches growing in the wild, most likely as a result of the Spaniard's introduction.
Peaches are Georgia's state fruit, producing over 130 million pounds of peaches between mid-May to mid-August. According to the Georgia Peach Commission the very first peach tree orchards in Georgia were planted by settlers in the 1700's. Then in the early 1800's peaches were first grown commercially by S.H. Rumph of Marshalville sp. Marshallville, Georgia. S.H. Rumph is known as the "father of the (peach) industry".
S.H. Rumph originally began to breed the Elberta peach in 1879 from the seed of the Chinese cling peach. Elberta Peaches, named for his wife Elberta, are now world famous peaches because of their sweet aromatic taste, attractive peachy color, and hearty disease resistance. Newer popular peach varieties include Flavorich, Springcrest, SpringPrince, Sunbrite, GoldPrince, RubyPrince, SummerPrince, JunePrince, SurePrince, Gala, Harvester, Red Globe, FirePrince, White Lady, Majestic, and many more!
Today most peaches produced in Georgia originate from the central region of the state. This region, producing around 100 million pounds of the 130 million pounds of peaches annually includes; Macon, Monroe, Crawford, Houston, Taylor, and Peach Counties. Most of these peach growers include family run farms such as Pearson Farm in Fort Valley, GA, consisting of third, fourth, and even fifth generation family members.
Peaches have a bright future due in part to how incredibly delicious and nutritious they are. A peach has many major nutrients like potassium, fiber, as well as vitamins A and C, yet is also cholesterol-free and low-calorie.
Studies on Georgia peaches have shown evidence of the benefit of eating fresh peaches and preventing cancer and even heart disease. Traditional American southern hospitality and honest values have been the guiding principles for families growing peaches for many years, and this will continue to be the path for many years to come.