The Pick Your Own Experience

Your peach picking experience begins the moment you enter the orchard. Parking is available in the field where the day's harvest is being conducted. Luscious tree-ripened peaches hang abundantly from carefully manicured trees. You will be provided with a Bennett Orchards picking container. For your convenience, wagons are available to make your picking experience easier. Our trained field attendants will be happy to assist you in locating the ripest fruit and most plentiful picking area. Your peaches are weighed and sold by the pound at our portable check-out stand. In a short time you will be able to pick the required 10lb minimum but don't stop there! We give a 10% discount for amounts over 100 lbs. These local summertime treats are only available for a brief period each summer. On your return visit when you reuse your Bennett Orchards container and pick the required minimum, a free pound will be deducted-it pays to recycle! The following guidelines may prove helpful:

How to Pick a Peach

PROPER COLOR - The ripest peaches have a deep yellow background color. The red color on a peach is not an indication of how ripe it is. HOW FIRM SHOULD A PEACH BE? - A ripe peach is firm to the touch. It might seem hard to you, but peaches will soften if left out of the refrigerator for a few days. PICKING THE PEACH - Pick peaches by twisting fruit gently. if the peach is ripe, it will separate from the branch easily. VARY THE FIRMNESS - Pick peaches of various degrees of firmness, with firmer peaches on the bottom and softer ones on the top.

Ripening & Storing

When you bring your hand-picked harvest home, some peaches may be ready to enjoy immediately. However, it usually takes a few days at room temperature for them to fully ripen. Lay the peaches flat on a counter or table and check daily for ripeness which is indicated by a deep yellow background color and when the fruit yields slightly to pressure from your thumb. Only refrigerate when they fully soften since prolonged refrigeration damages the fruit's flavor. Take time to briefly chill the fruit for serving. Enjoy your harvest within a week.