The Sugar and Science of a Sublime Nectarine – Frog Hollow Farm

Once you sink your tooth into the sleek, crimson pores and skin of a Frog Hole Farm nectarine, and juice is operating down your chin, science might be the very last thing in your thoughts. However there’s fairly a little bit of science behind these moments of pure, candy summer season bliss.Begin on the endA refractometer is a helpful software that farmers use to search out brix, or the measure of sugar, in a ripe piece of fruit. A standard piece of fruit registers a couple of 10 or 11 on the refractometer, 12 for those who’re fortunate. 
Farmer Al doesn’t even begin selecting our fruit till brix readings are at 14 or 15. And most of our nectarine varieties are coming in round 18 to 22! Which means a Frog Hole Fruit nectarine is more likely to be 50 p.c sweeter than what’s commercially obtainable.Overachieving nectarinesDid you understand that nectarines are peaches that lack the gene for fuzz? Farmer Al has at all times appeared for top brix nectarine varieties to develop, and that’s a giant a part of our juicy success. He’s enthusiastic about this 12 months’s crop – it’s going to be a lot better than final 12 months’s, and there are new orchards coming into manufacturing. He’s wanting ahead to the harvest of our Sweet Pearl and Majestic Pearl – two white nectarine varieties – in late June. Enhancing the sugarHigh brix varieties are place to start out, and our location and farming strategies push sugar content material even increased. Nectarines want heat days and funky nights to flourish. We’ve each in Brentwood, with our location close to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The temperature differential between the new summer season days and funky delta evenings helps make our fruit even sweeter. We assist Mom Nature alongside by utilizing compost, and with our pruning and thinning strategies. We additionally go away fruit on the tree to ripen longer, which permits the sugar to develop extra absolutely. An natural challengeGrowing natural nectarines is hard. Nectarine timber are very inclined to thrips, an insect that grazes on fruit pores and skin, scarring it. When the fruit grows, the scar turns into a giant, ugly blemish on the pores and skin. We management the thrips with an natural materials that kills them. Brown rot is one other menace – it’s a fungus. We use compost tea to regulate brown rot. Compost tea is tough to make and use, and it requires exact planning and schooling. One other story for one more time!Merely put: We farm within the excellent place for nectarines, and we nurture the earth, the tree and the fruit to develop a full vary of flavors. Seize a stack of napkins and a Frog Hole Farm nectarine and have a fantastic summer season!



Source link