FREE: 3 Elberta Peach Seeds From Northern Aarkansas

The listing, 3 Elberta Peach Seeds From Northern Aarkansas has ended.

Peaches are grown throughout the state of Arkansas with the highest concentrations being in central Arkansas (Pope and Faulkner counties), western Arkansas (Johnson and Franklin counties), southwest Arkansas (Howard and Clark counties), northern Arkansas (Boone, Benton, and Washington counties), and Crowley’s Ridge in eastern Arkansas (Cross and St. Francis counties). Peaches were introduced as a crop in Arkansas after the Civil War during the New South Diversification movement in agriculture.
The 1879 development of the yellow-fleshed Elberta peach variety in Marshallville, Georgia, by Samuel Rumph made peach growing possible as a viable industry. The Elberta, named for Rumph’s wife, softened more slowly than other varieties. Because of this advantage and the development of refrigerated railroad transportation, peach transport became possible. As railroad spurs spread westward and into the countryside, commercial peach production first reached Arkansas in areas such as Crowley’s Ridge in northeast Arkansas, Clarksville (Johnson County), and Nashville (Howard County).

Elbertas were first planted commercially in Arkansas in the late nineteenth century. As the first trees were planted with grubbing hoes or crowbars, early growers’ methods were primitive and inconsistent. Growers soon formed associations to help one another and to share successful methods and practices in peach farming. They held daylong meetings and invited members of the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service (UACES) to make presentations. Eventually, full-time, university-trained county agents replaced the ad hoc method of improving the orchards. In 1948, UA opened agricultural branch substations in Johnson and Howard counties. The Johnson county substation specialized in fruit, while the Howard County substation focused on peaches.