By Darrell Blackwelder
N.C. Cooperative Extension
The unseasonably warm winter has produced many fruit crops almost two weeks ahead of schedule. Kevin Huffman’s peach orchard is at its peak, loaded with golden fruit ready for the public. It’s his best peach crop in 14 years.
Quite often, peaches can be sparse with little or no appreciable crop due to late spring frosts. Ironically, lack of cold weather is a serious problem for commercial peaches in South Carolina and Georgia. Many high quality peach varieties must have close to 1,000-plus hours of temperatures below 40 degrees to have good fruit set. Many locations in these states have not reached proper chilling degree days. 
Read Blackwelder’s column on www.farmcarolina.com.