NJ peach blooms abundant

Peach blossoms are now at their peak throughout New Jersey. Blossoms are quite heavy this year, as weather has been cool but not cold.

“We had a little thinning of some buds on our very tender varieties,” said Santo John Maccherone, chair of the New Jersey Peach Promotion Council and owner of Circle M Farms in Salem. We still have a near full crop of most varieties and look forward to having a normal growing season for both our fresh markets and processing markets for Circle M Foods LLC.

“A mature peach tree may have 5,000 flowers with only 5-10% needed for a quality peach crop; that leaves room for a lot of error, whether caused by the grower or weather,” said Maccherone.

“I have great crop of peaches setting up,” said Tom Holtzhauser Jr of Holtzhauser Farms in Mullica Hill. Holzhauser. who sells both retail and wholesale out of his packing house and warehouse, is looking forward to a good growing season.

Both Holtzhauser and Maccherone are directors of the New Jersey Peach Promotion Council, a voluntary organization of growers, marketers and others associated with and servicing the peach industry. The council was organized more than 80 years ago to promote the orderly marketing of New Jersey peaches.

For further information:
New Jersey Peach Promotion Council
Email: info@jerseypeaches.com
www.jerseypeaches.com