GENTRY — Taylor's Orchard in Gentry opened June 8 and has been a very busy place, with some of the earliest varieties of peaches already picked and sold out. But peach lovers need not worry. Other varieties are ripening and will be ready soon.
The Derby and early Redhaven peaches were pretty much picked and gone last week, but the orchard has 12 varieties of peaches and nectarines and expects to have ripe fruit on hand throughout the summer, according to Bill Taylor, the orchard's owner and caretaker. And many of the other varieties have larger fruit.
The trees blossomed early this year and several frosts and freezes threatened the peach and nectarine crops. Taylor said he had large fans going numerous times in his orchard to move the air and prevent the cold from freezing the forming fruit on his trees. And his work paid off, with a good crop of peaches again this season.
Durbin nectarines were a deep red and ripening on the trees last week and the Cumberland peaches, a variety with sweet white fruit, were weighing down the branches as well and should be ready soon -- by July 1, according to Taylor.
Customers may buy peaches and nectarines by the bucket or the flat at the fruit stand, or they may go out into the orchard and pick their own.
Blackberries should be ready for picking in July as well, Taylor said. The berries are usually ready about the first week in July and the bushes are filled with green and red berries this year, so the berry picking should be great.
Taylor's Orchard is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, but is closed on Sunday. The orchard is located at 12801 Taylor Orchard Road in Gentry, and signs mark the way from Gentry and Siloam Springs. The orchard is located on the southwest edge of Gentry on Taylor Orchard Road, at the corner of Marion Lee Road.
From the intersection of Arkansas Highways 12 and 59, take Highway 12 west to Pioneer Lane or to Crowder Avenue south, to SWEPCO Road west, to Taylor Orchard Road south. Turn west on Marion Lee Road, and you'll see the sign at the corner of Marion Lee and Taylor Orchard Roads. All the roads are paved until you reach the orchard.
Whether going out and picking your own in the well-kept and mowed orchard or buying fresh-picked fruit at the stand, visitors can expect an abundance of sweet results when they visit Taylor's Orchard.
For more information, call Taylor's Orchard at 479-736-2004.
General News on 06/22/2016