Yarralee Orchard has enjoyed a fruitful start to the summer season, with a welcome year of rainfall bolstering crop growth.
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The Kelso orchard has experienced a busy December providing customers with healthy varieties of stone fruit, including peaches, nectarines, cherries, apricots and plumcots.
Yarralee owner Bina Gordon said the orchard has benefitted from regular rain across 2020.
"The spring rain gave the trees a much-needed pep up, and they're the healthiest they've looked in a long time," Ms Gordon said.
"It's a welcome relief from drought conditions last year, which saw a lot of trees struggling to gain the nutrients needed to maintain growth."
Ms Gordon said the orchard has introduced white cherries this year to provide customers with an intriguing take on a cherished fruit.
"We put the white cherry crop in three years ago, and it's great to finally see it come into fruition," she said.
"While it sounds like a puzzling take on cherries, they're sweeter than the regular variant and have proven popular with visitors."
Ms Gordon said smaller stone fruits in particular have proven popular, but larger variants are also being highly sought after.
"Because the trees are healthy, the fruit has grown larger and the taste is phenomenal," she said.
"Thankfully, the rain hasn't affected the taste, as too much rain can dissolve some of the sugars in the fruit."
Ms Gordon said the Christmas period especially proved fruitful for the orchard, with customers seeking healthier alternatives to serve with lunches.
"We've also had plenty of visitors from out of town visit the orchard in recent days, so it's nice to spread the word of our fruit around," she said.
Ms Gordon said a host of apricot varieties will be ready in time for January, and hopes a fine balance of weather will continue to assist produce into the new year.
"Rain is certainly good for the trees, but hot and dry weather really brings out the flavour in the fruit," she said.
"We also hope the summer storms are kind to us, as hail can damage the fruit."
"The local community has been very supportive over the past few months, and it's nice to have that positive feedback."