BAYFIELD PEACHES

BAYFIELD PEACH TREE...

...BEARING HEAVILY THREE YEARS AFTER PLANTING

Tuesday, 9:30 AM.  61 degrees F at the ferry dock, 59 on the back porch. Wind SSE, calm with occasional strong gusts.  The sky is overcast and cloudy, the humidity 77%. The barometer is falling, now at 29.97".  The high today will be in the mid-60's; tomorrow clear, with chances of thunderstorms on Wednesday, and Friday and for several days thereafter, as our wet weather continues.
    I have said for years that cold hardy peaches should grow well in Bayfield, which is in Plant Hardiness Zone 4B, particularly near the lake, but haven't tried it myself.  This young tree is growing on Second Street, perhaps a hundred yards from the water.  Will it survive a really harsh winter? I think so, as our climate and soils are very similar to the New York Hudson River Valley, where I know peaches do really well.   This peach tree was planted three years ago, and this is the second year it has borne peaches (two dozen as I counted them).
   Varieties 'Intrepid' and 'Reliance' are hardy to Zone 4, and are also self-pollinating.  Hauser's Orchard of Bayfield carries a few for it's Red Barn sale every spring.  Pick a sunny, sheltered spot near the lake if you are a local, and give them a try.
   Tree ripened peaches are far better than any that are picked before being fully ripe and shipped somewhere.  I sure wish some young Bayfield entrepreneur  would grow some commercially.