FN, if I had the ability to control my environment as you do or even if I lived in the dry west, I'd probably take a more clinical approach to brix levels. I am grateful to you for your observations as what I've learned from you will certainly affect my fruit thinning methods next season. I used to actually favor the more hidden peaches to keep them from bird view! When peaches are described as "rubbery" I think you'd be misled to interpret it as the common definition in describing food. I think it's about the texture being more firm but not where it's difficult to chew. The Adam's people wouldn't be embracing these clones if they didn't enjoy eating them. The problem with the whole schtick of connesseurship is that the further you go to get the greatest tasting stuff the more your standards of what is enjoyable go up. People used to choke on dust and often face starvation for the 3 months it took to travel across the country- now they complain about the airline food! Anyway, this is what I tell myself when I start to get jealous of your amazing ultra-sweet pluots.

I ate so many perfect peaches this year and it didn't really matter too much the variety. Just if they are heavily thinned and was the peach picked from a well exposed part of the tree. To me, there isn't that wide a range of qualities between yellow peaches on a good year. I was surprised and pleased with the lemony flavor of Earnie's choice this year, something I didn't notice before so I wonder how it will taste next year and is this a common occurance. I have a Red Haven on my property that for some reason puts out a lot of perfect looking watery and bland fruit year after year but I even found a few perfect ones on it. I do like a tree with large sized peaches, deep orange flesh that bears over a long period, like 3 weeks, without the last ones mushing out. Jonboy provides these year after year for me. Earnie's choice seemed to be done in little more than a week. There are now some yellows coming out that are low-acid, so I guess they must be noticeably different but I like higher acid peaches so it's not likely a difference I will appreciate. Messina has great red and orange colored flesh and is a very highly flavored peach. I'm beginning to believe it is a standout in its season as there were very few duds. But this was only it's third year of fruiting so I want to see how it does when the tree is fully sized up. I ate a couple of Autumn Star this year that were promising- does have some acid to go with the sugar. It will have to be good to surpass Encore for a late though. Coralstar is a peach that seemed so wonderful when I picked the fruit from a small tree but now seems to be just another fine large fruiting variety without great distinction as picked off a full sized tree. Maybe that's what happened with TangO but I need a couple more seasons with that one. It is at least a very distinctive peach for its texture and even though I wasn't that crazy about it this year my customers go ga ga for it. Another one that seemed great from a small tree was Desiree- at least for such an early one. I will try to find room to put one where I can evaluate it as a mature tree. White peaches that I liked this year were Manon, which seems to get very high sugar and good size for such an early peach and Lady Nancy which got huge and is the best textured white I've every tasted- nice melting flesh. I loved having nectarines for most of peach season although most of the later varieties crack too much to be practical. Ambre was the exception but it's a young tree and didn't have a lot of fruit. I'm not even sure how much I like its flavor as it is a low acid type. Eastern Glo and Summer Beaut both seem almost as easy to grow as peaches and should be more widely utilized by people who want more snap than a peach is likely to provide. By the way, I think you can call the sports of Loring to be pretty much the same peach but ripening at different times. No important other difference between Jonboy and Loring that I can discern.

I want to share the following story ,hoping that it may be useful . I had planted peaches :Summergiant, Earlybelle & a Nectarine : Sunlight 20 feet apart, in this order after a year or so there were 7 seedlings up under Smgt. which I planted out .in their first fruiting I noticed that one's fruit was ripe on 31 oct. Next tree had small grassgreen fruit I checked the mother tree, finding that her fruit was even smaller yet. another two of the trees have been bearing Nectarines, moderately, the peaches heavy crops.I soon found that crosspollination had resulted in this: 1st tree 31 oct first fruit, then 2nd tree 1 Dec. then mothertree 28 Dec. giving a three month season overall . Stone fruit propagation :Pips have a brown kernel like an almond inside, remove this by scratching the side with a fingernail , removing the cover to the white inside carefully .you should see a thin clear skin or film. this usually stays in the covering, if you find it on the white pip remove it gently this removes the need for stratification ( Refrigerating etc ) .I planted pips once a couple years ago in march and picked the first peaches in November the same year, . East London. South Africa.

normally peach and nectarine seedlings produce fruit that is fairly true to the parent fruit. It may take longer to come into bearing since it's a seedling but it should fruit.