CROP AVAILABILITY FROM FRECON FARMS

Sweet Cherries:

Black Pearl | Mid to End of May
BlackPearl® is an early cherry with exceptional firmness and storability, ripening 8 to 10 days before Bing, with Chelan™. This large cherry is firm and crunchy with excellent flavor, 20% sugar and a low incidence of cracking.

Royalton | Mid June
The biggest — and some say the best! This variety bears mouthwatering, 1¼” dark purple-red cherries.

Ebony Pearl |
Ebony Pearl(NY 32) has remarkable size. Ebony Pearl is an eye-pleasing, mid-season cherry that ripens 1 to 3 days before Bing. The fruit is dark red with good flavor and 21% sugar.

Rainier | Mid May to Mid June
Large, yellow with red blush. Sweet and flavorful. Very cold hardy

Black Gold | Mid June
This unique hybrid cross between Stark® Gold™ and Stella is beautiful, glossy and sweet.

Regina | Late June
Bold and vigorous. Fruit is sweet-tart when picked red; superbly sweet if picked deep purple, when fully ripe. Strong flavor with a good balance of natural sugars and acidity coupled with high “cherry essence”.

Hedelfingen | Mid June
Enjoyable and elegant. Glossy red fruit is so attractive it’s the go-to cherry for photographers. Looks good and tastes great in salads or dessert dishes.

Chelan | Mid May
The medium-sized Chelan™ cherry is tasty when picked at its best tart flavor. Ripening 11 to 14 days ahead of Bing, Chelan™ is firm and attractive with mahogany red skin and medium to dark red flesh.

Tart Cherries:

Montmorency | Late May to Mid June
Large, light red skin, yellow flesh. Perfect for cobblers, pies, etc. Extremely winter hardy.

Harglow | Mid to End of June
Late-blooming, productive tree, proven in coastal Northwestern climates. Medium size, bright orange fruit sometimes blushed red. Orange freestone flesh is firm, sweet, flavorful. Resistant to perennial canker and brown rot, resists cracking.

Robada | Late May to Mid June
A jumbo freestone apricot well suited to shipping, Robada features attractive skin color with a red blush. The deep orange flesh offers a pleasant balance of natural sugars, acids, and aromatic flavors.

Methley | Early to Late June
Earliest plum. Juicy, sweet, red flesh, mild flavor. Reddish purple skin. Attractive tree is heavy bearing and vigorous. Extremely cold hardy.

Vainer | Early September
A Vineland selection from the Wickson x Burbank cross. Bright red fruit, medium to medium-small size. Excellent flavor. Midseason ripening — about 3 weeks after Santa Rosa. Vigorous and productive.  Flame-red skin; yellow flesh; clingstone.

Dapple Dandy | Late July to Mid August
Sold in stores as “Dinosaur Egg®,” the large, firm Dapple Dandy Pluot® interspecific plum has a distinctive skin color that is pale green to yellow with red mottling. By traditional standards, the skin is unattractive, a fact that will be quickly forgotten after one taste of the creamy pink flesh. Dapple Dandy offers a spicy, plum-apricot flavor and a good acid to sugar balance (17 ºBrix).

Flavor Queen | Mid July to Mid August
Flavor Queen Pluot® harvests in August when the fruit begins to turn from green to bright yellow. This Pluot® is one of the sweetest of all Pluot® varieties, but cannot be sold to retail stores due to a skin so tender the fruit must be harvested with gloves. The large fruit is light-green to yellow, with golden flesh that is firm and juicy. Flavor Queen Pluot® is sweet with a slight apricot aftertaste and little tartness (18 ºBrix).

Ruby Queen | Mid July to Mid August
Beautiful reddish-black skinned fruits are 2″ around with firm, red flesh and an outstanding flavor. Ruby Queen is a USDA introduction that ripens 3-4 weeks after Plum Santa Rosa and is the plum of choice to extend the harvest season.

Spring Satin Plumcot | Early July
Apricot meets plum. This unique cross produces plumcots with red-black skin and golden red flesh that is very sweet: 33% sugar. Fruit is larger and firmer than other varieties of its kind.

Bubble Gum | Late August to Early September
Easy-to-grow fruit that smells and tastes like bubblegum! This heavy-producing tree yields crops of medium-to-large plums. Fruit has reddish-bronze skin and juicy yellow flesh that’s as sweet as candy.

Shiro | Late July
The best of yellow plums. This variety beats all others in appearance and taste. Luminous yellow skin covers sweet, juicy flesh.

Stanley Prune Plum | Late August
Large, dark blue skin. Juicy, sweet, delicious, greenish-yellow meaty flesh, freestone. Late summer harvest. Late blooming.

Draper | Late July
The Draper is an early midseason variety boasting large, powder blue, firm, excellently flavored berries. With delicious flavor and excellent firmness, the fruit is unusually regular and is presented in a loose cluster; easy release of ripe fruit from loose clusters and bears fruit on a strong, small stature bush.

Bluecrop | July
A great blueberry plant for colder climates. Produces big clusters of large, all-purpose berries — perfect in salads or pies, or served with cream. Developed in 1934, introduced in 1941. Cold-hardy. Ripens in July.

Darrow | August
Big and popular blueberries. Enjoy a bounty of delicious and sweetly robust fruit.  Ripens in August.

Jersey | August
A hearty, healthy blueberry. Enjoy abundant crops of large, light-blue berries.

YELLOW PEACHES:

Gloria | Mid to End of July
The Gloria™ peach offers a unique combination of qualities; it is exceptionally attractive and extremely firm, with a sweet, low-acid flavor. The fruit is large, highly colored (60 to 90% scarlet red over orange-yellow), with bright orange freestone flesh.

Contender | Mid to End of August
This exceptionally hardy variety, perfect for northern gardens, consistently yields large crops of sweet, juicy, medium-to-large fruit.

John Boy | Early to Mid July
A popular commercial peach.  Fruit is of very high quality ripening ten to fourteen days before Loring with better color. Fruit is large and very firm.

PF Lucky 13 | Late June to Mid July
PF Lucky 13 has it all: size, color, firmness and flavor. The large (average 2 3/4″) fruit has 60-80% scarlet red blush over yellow with some mottling. The very firm yellow freestone flesh has good flavor, average brix 10-12.

GaLa | Mid July
One of the earliest-ripening peaches. As attractive as it is flavorful. The fruit’s firm texture and minimal fuzz make it perfect for fresh eating and canning. Kids love it, too!

Rich May | Mid May to EarlyJune
Rich May is a yellow-fleshed clingstone peach with better flavor than other May-ripening selections. The Rich May produces large fruit with high color (85% to 90% deep red over yellow).

PF5 | 

Desiree | Mid May to EarlyJune
Highly colored and firm to very firm with good flavor, Desiree™ peach is attracting attention in the early season. Desiree™ is a medium-sized, yellow-fleshed cling to semi-freestone. The skin color is 70 to 90% crimson red over yellowish-red.

Glenglo | Mid July
A medium large, globose, 60-80% scarlet red over a yellow groundcolor, yellow-fleshed semi-clingstone peach.  The flesh is firm with good flavor.

PF17 | Mid July
Flamin’ Fury PF 17 peach is highly-colored: 60-80% crimson red over greenish-yellow. This widely planted variety has good size, ranging between 2 1/2″ and 3″; the yellow freestone flesh is firm, with good flavor, brix averaging 13-15.

PF27 |

Bounty | Mid July
Enjoy a mid-July ripening peach that has excellent flavor. This yellow fleshed freestone is nonbrowning, making it an excellent choice for canning.

Victoria | Early to Late August
Victoria™ is a large, firm to very firm late season freestone peach with excellent flavor and good shelf life. The skin is bright yellow blushed with red, the flesh is yellow. Harvest is about four weeks after Cresthaven.

WHITE PEACHES:

Spring Snow | Late May to Mid June
The largest of the May white peaches, Spring Snow is a low-acid white clingstone with very good flavor. The tree yields large fruit with high color (80% red blush over white).

Klondike | Late June to Mid July
The Klondike white-fleshed peach receives high ratings in every category. The firm, freestone fruit provides a memorable low-acid flavor, very large size and high color (85% light red blush over white).

White Lady | Mid June to Early July
White Lady is one of the best tasting white-fleshed freestones with low acid and a full, rich flavor. It is widely adapted, tolerating fluctuating spring weather conditions. White Lady presents well with large size and high skin color (75% to 85% light red blush over white). Very good storage and shipping qualities.

Sugar Giant | Mid to Late July
One of the largest white peaches, Sugar Giant features exceptional flavor and firmness. Sugar Giant is freestone and demonstrates very large size and good skin color (75% to 85% red blush over white).

September Snow | Late August to Mid September
September Snow is a low-acid freestone peach with white flesh that ripens into early September. The fruit is very large size with high skin color (75% to 80% red blush over white).

Sugar May | Mid June
Sugar May is a white-fleshed freestone peach with excellent eating qualities. Very juicy and sweet, it has a well-balanced flavor that earns high fruit-tasting scores. With medium-to-large size and attractive red skin, Sugar May is an excellent choice for the early season peach market.

Manon | Early Season
This white semi-freestone peach is large and firm with a red skin. The flesh is smooth and sweet excellent for fresh eating with low-acid flavor. Attains great size for an early season variety.

YELLOW NECTARINES:

Fantasia | Mid July to Early August
Freestone yellow-fleshed nectarine. Skin color: 65% – 75% red blush over yellow. Sweet. Popular home garden variety due to excellent flavor; scores high in taste tests.

Red Gold | Early August
Our longtime favorite for productivity, sweetness and cobblers! Red Gold has pretty solid red skin over the large fruit. A yellow freestone with melting juicy flesh.

WHITE NECTARINES:

Jade | Early Season
An early-season white nectarine with excellent color and firmness. The fruit is medium in size and freestone with very good eating qualities.

Bartlett | Early Mid Season
World’s most popular pear. High quality, tolerates hot summers.

Bosc | Late Season
Long and narrow shape, brown skin. Superb quality, one of the best. Use fresh or cooked.

Magness | Early September
Seckel x Comice. Medium-sized, short-necked, greenish-yellow, lightly russeted fruit. A thick skin reduces insect damage and contributes to long storage life. Soft, sweet, juicy flesh with minimal grit.

Seckel | Mid to Late August
Connoisseurs’ favorite. Sweet, flavorful, aromatic, spicy, perhaps the best dessert pear. Russeted brown skin.

Harrow Sweet | Late Season
A late-season pear developed by the Harrow Research Station in Ontario, Canada, AC™ Harrow Sweet ripens approximately three weeks after Bartlett.  The fruit size and appearance are similar to that of Bartlett; however, AC™ Harrow Sweet does develop an attractive blush.

Sunrise | Early to Mid August
Juicy, aromatic and sweet. This hearty tree produces beautiful yellow pears with a slight blush. Fruit is good for eating fresh or making desserts. Also stores well, lasting 2-3 months in proper refrigeration.

Anjou | Late September
Also commonly referred to as D’Anjou, this pear is still tasty seven months later and hits all the right notes. It’s cold-hardy, vigorous and precocious… and its keeping quality is unparalleled at up to seven months. Bright green and very firm at harvest, with a tinge of yellow as it ripens. Subtly sweet, fine-textured flesh. Introduced to America in 1842.

DESSERT:

Gala | Mid to Late September
Wonderful dessert apple from New Zealand. Crisp, nice blend of sweetness and tartness, rich flavor. Skin reddish orange over yellow. Early harvest.

Fuji | Mid September to Mid October
Introduction from Japan that quickly became California’s favorite apple. Sweet, very crisp and flavorful, excellent keeper. Dull reddish orange skin, sometimes russeted.

Honeycrisp | Early to Late September
Fruit is crisp and juicy with an aromatic flavor. Striped red over yellow color. Early harvest. Stores well.

Golden Delicious | Early to Late September
Long-time favorite for its sweetness and flavor.

Akane | Early to Late September
Especially fine red dessert apple derived from Jonathan. Sweet, rich, spicy flavor, well regarded by apple connoisseurs. Early harvest.

Stayman Winesap | Mid October
A high-quality dessert apple. Large, firm, wine-spicy fruit with a deep red color. Fruit makes a gorgeous addition to fruit bowls and gift baskets. Stores well.

Snapp Staymen | October
A sport of Red Stayman 201, this strain was discovered in the orchards of Alfred Snapp of Winchester, Virginia. We are confident that Snapp™ Stayman is the most highly colored strain of Stayman available. Productivity and flesh quality are identical to Red Stayman 201.

Blushing Golden | Mid October
It tastes great and it keeps well. It has the smooth Golden Delicious flavor, with a bit more zip. And it keeps in cold storage for months. Amazing! You can pick them in late fall (October) and still be eating them come spring.

Pink Lady | Mid October to Mid November
Hot climate apple from Western Australia. Very crisp, sweet tart, distinct flavor, good keeper. Skin reddish pink over green when ripe. White flesh resists browning.

McIntosh | Mid to Late September
Round, bright to dark red over green, superb quality in cool climates. Crisp, aromatic, subacid & sweet. Dessert/cooking. Early harvest.

Empire | September
Sweet and juicy, sprightly flavor, a cross of McIntosh and Red Delicious. McIntosh-type apple for hot summer climates.

Paula Red | September to Mid October
Bright red with some yellow and tan spots; the skin often has a dusty sheen. They have a sprightly taste, not too sweet and not too tart. It has a firm white flesh that becomes soft and mealy extremely quickly as its season declines. Paula Red apples are suitable for both eating fresh and cooking, although they become extremely soft when cooked, which suits them to some dishes (applesauce) and not others (pies).

Cortland | Mid September
This productive tree bears gorgeous ruby red apples with a snowy center that won’t brown in salads. Also perfect for pies and cider. Originates from Geneva, New York in 1898.

Crimson Crisp | Early to Mid September
A fresh-eating favorite! These excellent apples keep for 4-6 months in proper storage. Deep crimson skin covers sweet, crisp, subacid yellow flesh.

EverCrisp | Mid to Late October
The EverCrisp Apple is a new apple tree developed and released in 2012 by the Midwest Apple Improvement Association after more than a decade of careful cross-breeding. EverCrisp, a cross of Fuji and Honeycrisp, has a sweet flavor. It’s closer to Fuji in resemblance, but shares some of Honeycrisp’s texture characteristics.

Ginger Gold | Mid to Late September
Enjoy apples in summer! This early picker allows you to enjoy apples sooner than most varieties. The juicy and delicious fruit features a yellow-green skin with a golden glow. A crisp crunch and mildly tart flavor makes them perfect for fresh eating.

Jonagold | Early to Late September
Superb flavor, a connoisseurs choice. A cross of Jonathan and Golden Delicious. Yellow with red-orange blush. Crisp, juicy, subacid, all-purpose.

Cameo | Late October
Cameo apples are beloved by many PA cooks because they hold their shape and look fantastic when plated. They add crispness to salads and other dishes. Take a bite of a Cameo apple when you’re craving a snack that’s low in fat but high in fiber and flavor! Kids especially enjoy Cameo apples because of their sweetness and crunch.

Gold Rush | Mid to Late October
This apple has a tart, tangy flavor that sweetens with age. Excellent fresh or in pies and crisps.

Granny Smith | Mid October to Mid November
From New Zealand. Large, late, green, all-purpose. Crisp, tart, excellent keeper.

Jonathan | September
Cooks well. Medium to dark red. Crisp, juicy, moderately tart, flavorful.

BAKING:

Rome | Mid October to Mid November
Large, round, red, used primarily for cooking.

HEIRLOOM & CIDER:

Calville Blanc d’hiver | October
Keep those apple tart recipes handy! Uniquely shaped fruit with tender, sweet, and spicy flesh — excellent for sauces and desserts. One of the best cider apples and high in vitamin C. Antique variety, originates from France, circa 16th century.

Virginia Winesap | Late October
Virginia Winesap are medium-sized, somewhat heart-shaped apples with deep red skin.  Inside, they have firm, crisp white flesh, which is aromatic with a spicy flavour.

Ashmead’s Kernel | Early to Late September
Widely regarded as one of the all-time best-flavored apples.  Small to medium-sized fruit variable shape, often lop-sided.  Greenish to golden brown russet skin with reddish highlights.  Creamy yellow flesh is aromatic, crisp and sweet.  Fruit picked early is somewhat sharp and acidic, but mellows after a few weeks off the tree.  Ripens after Red Delicious, about with Golden Delicious.  Keeps 3-4 months.  Used for dessert, cider and sauce.

Dabinett | Late October
A classic English hard cider apple variety, which produces a full bittersweet juice.  Unlike many hard cider varieties which are best-used for blended ciders, Dabinett can also be used to produce a single-varietal full-bodied medium-dry cider.  Note that Dabinett apples are not suitable for eating fresh, they can only be used for producing juice for hard cider.

Kingston Black | Late October
Kingston Black is one of the definitive English hard cider apple varieties and produces a very high quality bittersharp juice.  It is one of the few English varieties that can be used without blending, to make a single-varietal cider.

Yarlington Mill | Late October
Yarlington Mill is a heavy-cropping traditional English cider apple variety, and quite widely grown in the English cider-producing regions. It produces a bittersweet juice.

Stoke Red | Late October
Stoke Red is a well-regarded high quality English cider apple varieties. It adds a classic bittersharp component to cider blends, and can also be used to make a single-varietal cider.

Golden Hornet | Late October
The fruits are useful in the kitchen, for crab-apple jelly and a source of pectin for jam-making.

Harry Masters Jersey | Late October
Harry Masters Jersey is a traditional English cider apple variety, producing a bittersweet juice.  It comes from the county of Somerset, and was in use in the early 20th century. It is possibly a seedling of Yarlington Mill.

Malus Sieversii | October
In the 1990s researchers from the New York State Agriculture Experiment Station (NYSAES) at Geneva, NY, visited the fruiting forests of Kazakhstan in central Asia – believed by many to be the birthplace of the apple. They brought back numerous seedlings of wild Malus sieversii, the species which is now known to be the ancestor of all modern apples (Malus domestica).

Roxbury Russet | Mid October
Roxbury Russet is a typical russet apple, with a sweet flavor. However it is larger than most russet apples. The extent of russeting can vary from considerable to minimal, and like many russets it can develop an attractive sun-kissed flush as well.  It has many uses from eating fresh to sweet and savoury salads, juicing and cider.

Hewe’s Virginia Crab Apple | Mid October
Hewe’s Crab is a very old crab apple, also commonly known as Virginia Crab.  Although most crab apples are grown for their ornamental value, Hewe’s Crab is grown primarily for cider production. It produces a high quality clear juice which adds a dry flavor to cider blends.

Michelin | Mid October
Michelin is a traditional French hard cider apple variety producing a medium bittersweet juice.  Cider apple varieties tend to remain in use primarily in their area of origin but Michelin was imported to England in the 19th century and is arguably better known and more widely grown in England than in France.

Wickson Crab | Mid October
Wickson Crab apples contain plenty of pectin and are therefore useful in the kitchen for jams and jellies.  Unusually for a crab apple, Wickson Crab is also surprisingly sweet. The high sugar content is balanced by a high acid content, and the juice of Wickson Crab is therefore very useful in cider blends.

Golden Russet | Mid October
Golden Russet is usually considered to have the best flavor of all American russet apples.  It is an exceptionally versatile apple and was grown in New England on a commercial basis in the 19th century. Today it retains a keen following for the excellent quality of its juice, which is used for cider and hard cider production.

Hyslop Crab | Mid October
Hyslop, sometimes spelt Hislop Crab is a crab apple from 19th century America. This crab is unusually large for a crabapple, around 2″ in diameter with dark red to purple skin. Flesh is yellow, dry, firm, and tart. Used to add tannin and sharpness to ciders. Can also be used for jelly and pickling.

Pomme Gris | Mid September
This heirloom is small but dense, with thick, tough skin, with tan-green russeting covering the whole fruit. A solid fresh eating apple, usefullness in cider is debated. Like other russets, its high flavor has a tart sweetness and pear-like richness. Flavor is rich, dense, cruncy, with deep nuttiness.Excellent dessert apple. Grown by Thomas Jefferson in Monticelllo, where it places highly in the annual apple tastings.