The world-famous Palisade Peaches are about ready.

Now in my third "peach season" here in the Grand Valley, I'll admit that I'm looking forward to their arrival as about anyone can be. I sent some home last year and needless to say the peaches were a big hit back home in Missouri. My friends and family in the "show-me" state know what a great peach is supposed to taste like. They loved them and are already hitting me up to send more this year.

It's starting. A few varieties are being harvested now including the "Rising Star", "Red Haven" and "New Haven" varieties. I had no idea but apparently, there are about 30 to 40 different kinds of peaches grown in and around Palisade. "The peaches we get now, early in the season, are going to be long gone by the time the next phase comes in. So we'll always have different varieties coming in. They're predictable in their timing and they're in sequence to one another. The reason we have so many varieties is just to spread that season out as long as we can," so says Charlie Talbott from Talbott Farms in Palisade.

The last couple of years, there have been peaches available much earlier. The mild winters had blossoms on trees earlier. This spring was much cooler and wetter which has actually moved the harvest back to it's "normal" start-time of late July.

Get ready for some outstanding peaches this year! The cooler weather saw the trees under less stress which means more flavor. The Palisade Peach season peaks in August and continues through September. The annual celebration of the peach, the Palisade Peach Festival is August 15th-18th.

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