If it feels like summer fruit season flew by this year, you’re not imagining things! A cold winter followed by a warm spring brought on early blossoms and an early harvest across California, and our peach varieties ripened much closer together than usual. The result was a delicious but condensed peach season that wrapped up two to three weeks early.

While we’re sad to say goodbye to peaches a little sooner than expected, there’s still plenty of summer fruit to enjoy and some early signs of fall on the way!

Pluots - Late Season Stone Fruit

As peach season winds down, pluots are stepping into the spotlight, and they’re an especially delicious bridge between summer and fall.

In about a week, we expect to begin harvesting Flavor Rich pluots, a variety we only have a small number of trees of. With their bright golden flesh and vibrant purple skin, they’re as beautiful as they are delicious. Flavor Rich has a firm, satisfying texture and a sweet, juicy flavor that makes it a fun late-summer addition to the lineup.

Then, in roughly two weeks, keep an eye out for Flavor Fall pluots. As one of the latest varieties of the season, Flavor Fall helps carry us from summer into fall. It has a beautiful color, firm and crisp flesh, and a lovely sweet-tart flavor thanks to its balanced acid and sugar. This pluot makes for a nice finale to the stone fruit season.

And Just Like That, Fall Is Around the Corner

While the trees are still giving us plenty of summer fruit, we’re also beginning to look ahead to early signs of fall. The first of our Asian pears are beginning to come off the trees, starting with Hosui. These pears are wonderfully crisp, juicy, and sweet, and they’re especially popular with kids. Farmer Al likes to compare the golden color of Hosui to butterscotch pudding. And the eating experience is just as delightful: crisp and juicy at the same time, with a sweet, low-acid flavor that makes them incredibly easy to enjoy.

This year’s Asian pear crop is unfortunately one of our lightest in a long time. Warm, rainy conditions during bloom created challenging conditions for the trees, including fire blight. To protect the health of the orchard, we surgically removed affected areas by pruning out impacted branches. That careful work means there is less fruit on the trees this year.

So, our Asian pears may be coming and going a little more quickly than usual, but when you do find them, they’ll be every bit as delicious.

Summer Isn’t Over Yet

The calendar may be inching toward fall, but there’s still plenty of summer left in the orchard.

Every growing season has its own rhythm, and this year the orchard is moving a little faster than usual. We’re grateful for every fruit that makes its way from our trees to your table, and especially grateful to share the season with you, however long or short each chapter may be.

So if you’re still holding onto summer, we’re right there with you. There’s plenty more good fruit to enjoy!