Palisade orchards largely escaped freeze damage that hit some other Western Slope fruit producers

Brandon Leuallen, The Business Times

After parts of the Western Slope faced an unusually warm early spring followed by late frosts in some areas, some orchard owners in Palisade say customers were left with the wrong impression about the region’s signature peach crop.

Lance Davis, who owns Davis Family Farms with his wife, Becky “Nana” Davis, in Palisade, said reports about widespread crop damage elsewhere on the Western Slope led many people to believe Palisade peaches also had been heavily impacted.

“Somebody, some news place put out a thing that said Western Slope wiped out of peaches,” Davis said. “We thought, ‘Well, we need to get word out that isn’t really the truth.’”

According to Davis, some orchards in areas including Hotchkiss, Cedaredge, Paonia, Delta and Olathe experienced more significant losses from spring freezes, while his orchard and most of Palisade largely avoided severe damage.

“Palisade got close, but didn’t lose a lot of its crop or most of its crop or anything,” Davis said. “There were little spots here and there, but everybody, for the most part, has got a full crop this year.”

The distinction matters for local growers whose businesses depend heavily on summer tourism and fruit sales. Palisade peaches are one of the Western Slope’s most recognizable agricultural products and attract visitors from across Colorado during harvest season.

Davis and his wife have operated their orchard for 26 years and have approximately 5,000 peach trees with staggered varieties designed to ripen throughout the season.

“We have a different variety come on every five to 10 days, so we have a good growing set,” Davis said.

The Davis Family Farms’ peach varieties include Rich May, Fay Elberta, Desiree, Early Red Haven, Garnet Beauty, Red Haven, John Boy, Glohaven, Contender, Cresthaven, J.H. Hale, O’Henry and Autumn Star. Davis said staggering the varieties allows the orchard to maintain a steady harvest window throughout the summer.

Davis said not only are harvests looking strong on his orchard, but this year’s crop is also arriving significantly earlier than normal because of the warm spring weather.

“We’re way ahead right now,” he said. “It’s early because of the early weather.”

Davis said he expects cherries in the region could begin harvest around May 25, roughly two weeks earlier than normal. Early peach varieties could also begin appearing for sale by the second week of June if weather conditions remain favorable.

“I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if we start seeing peaches this year around the second week of June,” Davis said.

The timing of spring freezes can affect orchards differently depending on variety and bloom timing. Davis said one misconception is that later-season peaches necessarily bloom later.

“Sometimes your later varieties actually bloom first,” he said. “Our O’Henrys and our Autumn Stars actually bloom first.”

Despite blooming earlier and potentially facing more exposure to spring cold snaps, Davis said those varieties also came through the season well and are expected to produce strong crops alongside the rest of the orchard.

The Davises sell peaches directly from their farm in Palisade and distribute fruit to other parts of Colorado during the season. They also operate a roadside market in Steamboat Springs and attend local farmers markets. Their farm operation, known as Davis Family Farms and Nana’s Fruit and Jam Shack, also sells jams, fruit products and other locally grown produce.

More information is available through  Palisade Peach Shack.

For growers like Davis, clarifying the condition of this year’s crop is important not only for customers, but also for maintaining confidence in one of Palisade’s best-known agricultural industries.

“We just wanted people to know that Palisade peaches are still here,” Davis said.