COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Palisade peach season has arrived — and it is earlier than usual.
Zack Quintana, president of Pikes Peak Farmers Markets and in a family of third-generation peach growers from Palisade, Colorado, says this year's crop is coming in 3 to 4 weeks ahead of schedule.
"This is actually the earliest we've ever seen them as far as we can remember. The past few years we've been getting them earlier than normal, but this year we're about 3 to 4 weeks earlier," Quintana said, "We've never picked them this early."
Quintana attributes the early arrival to warmer weather this past winter, which accelerated the ripening process. The timing is unusual enough that peaches are appearing at market at the same time as cherries and apricots — a combination that does not typically happen.
"We're seeing them when we would normally just have cherries at this time of year. So it's kind of a crazy thing," Quintana said.
Quintana's family owns C & R Farms on Colorado's Western Slope and has been a fixture at local farmers markets, like the Old Colorado City farmers market, for decades.
"We've had a stand at this market for over 40 years now," Quintana said.
Convincing customers that the peaches are genuinely ready this early has been part of the challenge this season.
"This year it's been like, no, we've been trying to promise people that they are ours. We have varieties that come off earlier than everybody else," Quintana said.
His advice to peach lovers is simple.
"To get down and buy them sooner rather than later in the year," Quintana said.
Quintana says early July is the best time to buy, and C & R Farms will stop picking peaches by mid-August.
The early season is not limited to peaches. Quintana says other fall fruits could also arrive ahead of schedule, though cooler weather could slow things down.
"Apples and pears will start in very beginning of August, depending on weather if we have really cool and they slow down, it's possible that they could come later. Once like October comes around, we're not gonna Colorado is going to pretty much be done," Quintana said.
So if people are getting ready to gear up for fall fruits, Quintana has a tip to keep in mind, especially as he looks ahead to when C & R Farms will stop picking fruit.
"We'll probably end most of that stuff toward the beginning of October. So just consider like we're moving everything up about 2 to 3 weeks toward the fall," Quintana said.
