T.S. Eliot’s J. Alfred Prufrock wondered if he should dare to eat one, but for many fruit lovers, biting into a peach isn’t a question, it’s just a part of summer.
Brandon Smith, a worker on Watsonia Farms, a four-generation peach farm in Monetta, S.C., said the key to growing a good peach is controlling the moisture to the fruit.
“Peaches are conducive to mold and fungus, things related to moisture,” he said. “That’s why it’s such a challenge.”
As long as both moisture and insects can be controlled, the chances of having a good peach crop are high, he said.
Smith said he prefers yellow peaches to white ones, and likes them to be sweet and slightly tangy.