Beloved Box Elder County peach orchards bloom early thanks t

PERRY, Utah (ABC4) -- With the unseasonably warm temperatures, peach trees are blossoming early in the fruit orchards that sprawl along Box Elder County's Famous Fruit Highway.

One farmer is hopeful that this year's harvest will be bountiful, and notes that people may have to make their annual trip up to the many fruit stands in the area earlier than usual.

Tucked between the mountain side and Highway 89 and rooted in rocky soil sits Tagge's Famous Fruit and Veggie Farms. Thayne Tagge, the owner, told ABC4 that there is a reason that families have been farming this stretch of land for generations.

County Famous Fruit Highway

"That area up there is protected by the lake and the rocks, and the climate, and the wind coming down," he stated. "We call it our own microclimate."

Tagge said the area is often protected from late spring frosts. He said peach trees often blossom around mid April, and he and his wife usually pray that they don't bloom before her birthday, March 29, because a late frost could happen. However, this year is different. It got a lot warmer sooner. "Let's go," Tagge stated. "We're not messing around this year."

Tagge said their trees began blooming about two weeks before his wife's birthday and about four weeks than what is usually expected. "When I saw that 70 degrees hit way early, record, right? I said: 'Let's go guys, let's get them pruned,'" he recounted. So, they did just that. While they prepared for an early bloom, they had to wait to see if some extra, much needed, help would arrive.

Tagge

"The bees are loving it," said Tagge. "They are going crazy. Pollination is going to be up, and we're going to be getting incredible pollination and that's an issue sometimes. If you don't have those bees out and they don't have the time they need to cross pollinate then you're in trouble."

While Tagge is glad to see the bees out early, the warm weather may also bring uninvited guests. "What we rely on Utah is a cold winter to kill pests that are overwintering," he added. "We didn't really get that."

Not only that, but the lack of snow could also mean future water restrictions. "You have got to adjust," Tagge stated. "You think farming is just dah, dah, dah, dah, dah. No. You've got to reevaluate every day, you've got to rethink it every day, and you've got to approach it that way."

The details that count

While the warm weather could bring its challenges, Tagge believes this year's crop will be bountiful. "I'm very positive and optimistic that things are going to be okay," he said. "You're just going to have to come up a little earlier and get your peaches because it's going to throw off the ripening season."

ABC4 went up to Tagge farms in Perry, Utah to gather footage of the early blooms. The fruit stand, like others in the area, is typically only open to the public during the summer months.

Tagge was interviewed in his family's new distribution center in South Salt Lake where he was working for the day. There, the family sells their products (jams, salsas, free-dried peaches, etc.) year-round.

That area up there is protected by the lake and the rocks, and the climate, and the wind coming down.

Putting it in context

Growers judge a harvest on yield; cooks judge it on flavour. Those two measures diverge far more often than most shoppers realise.

At a glance

PERRY, Utah (ABC4) -- With the unseasonably warm temperatures, peach trees are blossoming early in the fruit orchards that sprawl along Box Elder County's Famous Fruit Highway
One farmer is hopeful that this year's harvest will be bountiful
"That area up there is protected by the lake and the rocks, and the climate, and the wind coming down," he stated
Tagge said the area is often protected from late spring frosts
Tagge said their trees began blooming about two weeks before his wife's birthday and about four weeks than what is usually expected

What people ask

What should you know about Tagge?

Tucked between the mountain side and Highway 89 and rooted in rocky soil sits Tagge's Famous Fruit and Veggie Farms.

Why does it matter?

"You're just going to have to come up a little earlier and get your peaches because it's going to throw off the ripening season.".

What happens next?