Food & Life

April frost devastates Hill Country peach crop

Hope also fades for blackberries after freeze that hit Gillespie County on April 7.

By Addie Broyles
AMERICAN-STATESMAN FOOD WRITER
Wednesday, April 22, 2009

A freeze in the Hill Country earlier this month has all but wiped out this year's peach crop.

Peach farmers from the Fredericksburg, Stonewall and Johnson City area have confirmed that a frost April 7 killed nearly all the blossoms that had already popped out on the trees.

Bill Psencik, a grower with trees between Stonewall and Fredericksburg, says he thought he was in the clear: the last date of a freeze is usually around April 1. "I keep hoping I might find some (unscathed blooms) under a limb, just enough for our use, but no. It's a total loss."

The impact of the peach industry on Texas' economy is about $39 million, according to agriculture statistics. Forty percent of the state's crop is grown in Gillespie County.

Many farmers, including Psencik, have insurance to help cover the losses caused by a freeze, but even with insurance, it's a heartbreaking scene. "I have lost more than I have made in 12 years," Psencik says. Psencik says he's had only three full crops in that time. Last year, his orchard produced 35 percent of a full crop.

Farmers suffered two freezes in early April, but the second on April 7, when the temperature dropped to 28 degrees, was the worst. The peach trees only flower once, and once the pit is ruined, there's no hope for a fruit, Psencik says.

Fredericksburg farmer Gary Marburger called the freeze devastating, but it will be a few more weeks before he knows for sure. Some of the varieties could still bear fruit, but it's not looking good. "We're all going to be surprised if we turn out anything."

Paul Wood, who grows peaches north of Johnson City, says it's still possible that his ranger and red haven peaches will bear fruit, but he doesn't consider it likely.

Marburger says his strawberries are just fine; there are still a few weeks of you-pick berries available. But both his and Psencik's blackberries, which were in the height of blooming, were wiped out along with the peaches.

"I was going to make this my last year," says Psencik, who sat behind a desk in Austin for 45 years until starting a second career as a peach farmer more than a decade ago. "I'm 73 years old, and it's a lot of work. I might do it one more year. I really like growing things."

abroyles@statesman.com; 912-2504