Best place to get GA peaches?
 

My aunt said she used to stop at a packing place on Hwy 341 around Macon/Perry area & got the best peaches. Does anyone have any idea what place that might be? She said it was a plain metal packing shed & they weren't in fancy labeled boxes. We got some from the Lane place but they had many mushy ones even though they were sold as 1st quality. I really want to try the Red Globe variety & have read it is coming in now.

It may be Pearson's Farms. They have a web site - and their soft serve peach ice cream is to die for!!

Ah the memories. In the late 1950's returning to Ohio from a summer vacation in Florida, we stopped and got a whole bushel of peaches. Mom was going to make preserves when we got home. They sat in the back of our big station wagon in the sun. (No air conditioned car for us then). By the time we got home two days later, they were one half-cooked, rotten mess. I couldn't eat a peach for a year.

Georgia ??

Sorry...it was too inviting!!!

Really, anywhere in southern Georgia you will find the best peaches, although they are all over the state. It's best to buy from roadside vendors or the larger farms that have actual stores with other farm products for sale. Generally, you should avoid the supermarkets if you want the best fruit. I have seen California peaches in Georgia supermarkets -- ugh!!!

Ah, but the best Georgia peaches are in South Carolina. :)

B/

Out here in Oklahoma, the big deal is Porter peaches. People drive their horse trailers out to Porter (southeast of Macon), load them up with peaches, and high tail it back to OK to sell them at roadside stands. Now I'm wondering if they use air-conditioned horse trailers. /:) I know people around here love their horses and all...

Patrick, I just caught the irony in your story: your Mom was going to make "preserves," but the peaches spoiled. :D

Yea, it was a peach of an idea gone sour.

How rotten.

If you are headed all the way into Atlanta, you may want to stop at the state Farmer's market just off 75.

And, sadly yes, SC outproduces (that's not a word is it?) GA in peaches.

And sad to say, if you buy peaches from road side stands in SOUTH Georgia, there is a good chance that they are from South CAROLINA. It's very hard to raise peaches in the southern part of the state. A farmer can make more money planting other things. Now, in the northern part of Georgia, they are much better. Around Fort Valley is also a good area.

The reason you'll see CA peaches in Georgia supermarkets is simple-- about 60% of the commercial peaches in the US are grown in California (credit a growing season that can stretch into October), with SC and GA neck-and-neck at some 15% each.

But support the local peach growers wherever you are-- their fruit is invariably better than the stuff you get in the supermarkets. Our farmer's markets have been overflowing with the most incredible peaches and nectarines this summer, so I bet the GA and SC stuff must be wonderful too.

Don't assume that if you see Georgia peaches in a Georgia supermarket that's a good thing. I learned years ago that the tomatoes grown within a few miles of here in South Florida found in a Winn-Dixie, were in fact picked green, shipped to Kentucky (I believe that's where they said their central distribution center is) and then packaged and sent back to our local Winn-Dixie supermarkets. What's wrong with that picture?

I was driving back from Lake Lanier, GA about 40 minutes out of Atlanta and we stopped at a road side stand on the way to the highway to buy some George Peaches.

They were THE BEST peaches I have ever had to this day. My husband and I were rushing to the airport to catch a flight so we never stopped to try them until we got on the plane - they were the kind that dripped juices down your chin when you bit into them. I never had a peach like it since.

Although - there are some great peaches and other produce at the Market in Brookfield, WI, just outside of MKE. I can't remember the name, but I was just there at the end of June and their Peaches were pretty darn good!

Thanks for all the help. I am in LA & can you believe I found Big6Farm GA peaches at Walmart? They were great & I think they are part of the Pearson Farm family.

Guess I need to make a road trip next June & eat my way through Ga. Then if I haven't died from peach overdose I can try SC. I did read that they were hot on the heels of Ga for producing a tasty peach.

The heart of peach country in Georgia is Fort Valley. There are several large concerns and many, many mom-and-pop roadside stands.