We have six different varieties of PEACHES at Sauvie Island Farms.

We get asked a lot of questions about which ones are the best for canning, or which ones are the sweetest…and to tell you the truth, the best peach is the one that is ripe and ready to eat today!! Our peach varieties begin ripening with the Early Red Havens and continue for the next 5 weeks. We understand that once you have tried the different varieties that you may have a personal preference for texture, color, sweetness or ease of coming off the pits. If picked when ripe, all of our peaches will be sweet, juicy and excellent for fresh eating, freezing or canning. Our Early Red Havens are all picked out for this year. We are now picking the Red Havens…and the orchard is loaded with beautiful fruit that needs to be picked NOW. If the fruit gets too ripe the peaches will drop off the trees. The Red Havens are ‘classified’ a freestone, which means the flesh of the peach comes off the pit easily. If the peach is not entirely ripe, it will be a little clingy. The flavor of this variety is very sweet and ‘peachy’. Many people use this variety for canning and freezing, and of course for fresh eating!! Our next variety to ripen will be the Hale-Haven, which is a cross between a Red Haven and a Hale. These peaches are very rosy red, and have an excellent flavor. Also great for freezing or canning. The Rosa are also a freestone and great for freezing or canning. We have people who only want the Rosas because of the flavor. After the Rosas, the Veteran peaches will ripen. This is a customer favorite for canning, because these peaches are so easy to work with. They come right off the pit, and the skins slip off without scalding. This variety tends to be a ‘yellowish’ color, it doesn’t have the red color next to the pit like some of our other varieties. Last to ripen in our orchard are the Elbertas. These are a classical favorite, a freestone and great flavor. We don’t have many of these trees, so we usually only pick for half a day with this variety.
So…did I just confuse you more?? Actually, we really don’t have any bad peaches. When you come out to pick your own, you are getting tree-ripened peaches that will be juicy and sweet. It is best for you to try the different varieties and decide for yourself which you like the best. We will have peaches for you to pick thru August.