Popular Palisade peaches arrive early to Colorado's Front Range
Over the next two months, Marty Wacker will get to know the 300 miles of Interstate 25 and Interstate 70 between Fort Collins and Grand Junction like the ripeness of a peach.
That's because July and August are popular Palisade peach season. While the town of Palisade east of Grand Junction grows many of the sweet peaches, orchards of peaches and other fruits are found throughout the Grand Valley.
A couple times a week, Wacker will be loading up the trailer pulled behind his Dodge 2500 truck with boxes of fresh, tree-ripened Palisade peaches to haul from the West Slope to Fort Collins.
Monday, he was getting ready to make the trip to supply his three Fort Collins peach stands, which he's had the past 13 years. He has stands in the parking lots of Jax Outdoor Gear, 1200 N. College Ave.; JJ's Wood Fired Pizza, at the corner of Harmony Road and Taft Hill Road; and Copoco's Honey, 2020 N. College Ave.
Stands from other vendors will be popping up around Fort Collins as the season progresses.
“She’s a thirsty girl, but she’s powerful," Wacker said, standing at his Palisade peach stand in the parking lot of Jax, pointing to his Dodge. "Sometimes, the farmer (a friend of Wacker's) will come to us and save us the 600-mile roundtrip, which we greatly appreciate."
Steve Harris and family, of Kersey, were on their way fishing when they stopped by the JAX stand Monday.
"We always buy our peaches here on our way up fishing,'' he said. "They are so good. We wait for them every year.''
Palisade peach season gets early start in Colorado this year
This year, Wacker is making the drive much sooner than normal.
He said conditions have been ideal for growing peaches in the Palisade area, which resulted in "about a 95% peach set, making it a really strong year this year."
Colorado's Grand Valley is peach-growing heaven. The valley sits at the feet of 10,000-foot mountains with the Colorado River supplying water and fertile soil and the perfect combination of intense sun and cool nights providing especially sweet, juicy peaches.
Wacker said it's the intense heat the area has had this year that has produced peaches earlier this year.
"It's been extremely hot this year; we have been over 105 degrees several days and countless days over 100," Wacker said. "That's making the peaches come on a little bit sooner."
He said last year, he didn't have peaches ready to truck to Fort Collins until July 21. This year, he started selling peaches in Fort Collins on July 3.
He said that means the end of the Palisade peach season will end sooner than normal. Some years he can sell into the second or third week of September, but predicted the end will come around Labor Day this year.
How to tell if you are buying Palisade peaches
Wacker said there is one pretty sure way you can tell if you are buying a Palisade peach as opposed to peaches from California.
He said some peach providers will sell California peaches early in the season until Palisade peaches are ready.
"Palisade peaches don’t come on until about the first week of July," he said. "California peaches are here in June. So, if you are getting a peach in June that says Palisade peach, you’re not getting a Palisade peach. I know that for sure.
“After you’ve looked at about 10,000 peaches, you can maybe tell the difference but (for) the layperson it’s almost impossible to visually check. After I bite into a peach, I can tell you if it’s a Palisade peach or not."
Palisade peaches include clingstone and freestone varieties.
Clingstone peaches are ones where the flesh is more resistant to removing from the pit, or stone. They have a sweet taste and are ideal for canning. They are the first varieties harvested of the year.
Freestone peaches have flesh that is easily removed from the pit and are popular for eating out of hand. They usually come later in the season.
"There is a misconception that there is only one Palisade peach," Wacker said. "But the Palisade area has about 30 different varieties. That allows us to have peak picking season over months. If we only had one variety, the peak peach season would be over in three days."
Wacker said it can be difficult to tell if a peach is ripe just by looking at it when buying peaches. He said that's where a trust factor comes into play with the seller and the producer.
"The tree-ripened fruit will become apparent about a day after the peaches come up to room temperature," he said. "They should be just about the perfect texture after one to two days sitting on the counter. If not at that perfect texture after one or two days, it’s probably not a tree-ripened peach."
Palisade peach prices vary, depending on the seller. Wacker's Palisade peaches run $73 for a 20-pound box, $41 for a half box and $16 for a peach bowl.
"We don’t advertise the peaches as organic, but we are certified and if customers ask, we tell them," he said. "I do organic more as a personal philosophy.''
A guide to buying, determining ripeness and how to ripen Palisade peaches
There is no official labeling of Palisade peaches, so this can be tricky, according to Colorado State University Extension, vendors and other sources:
Buying tips
Buy from known and reputable stands and once you find one, stay with it.
Vendors say to ask stand workers if the peaches are from Palisade.
Look at the peach boxes at the stand to see if they have Palisade written on them. Peach boxes are reused, though, so the boxes might not be an indicator they hold Palisade peaches.
Look to see if the peaches have a California (or other state) sticker on them.
Signs of peach ripeness
Look at the blossom end of the peach. If it's a yellow-green color, the peach is not ripe and you should wait a few days to eat it.
When the blossom end is a creamy color or if the peach is slightly flat on the bottom from sitting on the counter, it is ready to eat.
Peaches are ripest when they start to get a little soft with a little give to the flesh, but don't squeeze too hard or you could bruise the fruit.
A ripe peach is generally also very round and shouldn’t have any green tones left to its color.
How to ripen, delay ripening
To ripen, place them separated on the counter away from direct sunlight and resting on their shoulders as opposed to on their bottoms.
You can also slow the ripening process by keeping your peaches in the fridge.
Where can I find Palisade peaches near me in the Fort Collins area?
Here is a list of some places where you can purchase Palisade peaches. This is not a complete list, and when stands open and Palisade peaches are available varies:
The 2024 Fort Collins Peach Festival is scheduled for Aug. 17.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Palisade peaches season arrives in Colorado