When I was in elementary school and I started my 4-H years, I never wanted to do the same thing as my brother. My brother showed steers, I showed hogs. When I got to 6th grade I had this inner fire in me that wanted to do something else. More than just livestock! ….insert the history behind the business, Stacy Peaches (Stacy is my maiden name, in case you didn’t know 😉).

I’ve always had a fire underneath me that strives for more. 🔥 In 6th grade I was at a friend’s house and we happened to stop by one of their neighbors, which happened to have a single peach tree in their yard. In the weeks after that, I kept asking my dad (a full time farmer)…do you think I could grow some peach trees? *Do you THINK I knew what I was getting myself into?! HECK NO! 😂

Somehow, I got my dad convinced and my parents were on board. Within a few months, we had 24 peach trees on order (2005). As a little 6th grader, I was imagining a few trees but my dad said “If you want some, you might as well make it worth while and sell them!” 😬 We knew (obviously from months of research) that it takes 3-4 years for a peach tree to produce fruit. So when we planted them, we knew we wouldn’t get fruit until 2008. 

But we didn’t stop there….the following year (2006) we planted another 25 more. Why? I have no idea! Maybe because my dad saw the future of the business or maybe because he just wanted me to work harder!? Then again in 2007, we planted 25 more. At this point we were at 3 rows of 25.

When I was in college, we decided that we needed to plant more so we could have a longer peach season. So in 2013 we planted 40 more. Throughout those years, we lost a few. *I may have killed 1 with Gramoxone, which is a weed killer (that’s a story in itself! 😂). And a few just didn’t make it the first few years. So in total, we have 111 peach trees, all in full production. But not for long….

Last fall, my husband and I decided that we need to plant more because soon that first set of 25 is going to stop producing. The average lifespan of a peach tree is 15-20 years. So how many did we order for this year? 110! 🤯

The past month has been busy for us. My husband and father-in-law planted the new 110 trees just a few weeks ago (look how cute they are! Pictured below.) We also just completed pruning every single tree, all 221 of them. The next step of maintenance you may ask, is thinning. I’ll talk about that in the next blog post. ✂️

You may think this is crazy, but this is our lifestyle. 🤗 My husband and I own and operate Stacy Peaches and enjoy raising our kids in our small peach orchard. If it wasn’t for family, this business wouldn’t be possible. From the great peach picker, Uncle Timmy, to my mom – picking every single morning before 7 a.m. To my in-laws, ALWAYS helping us prune…every. Single. Year. We appreciate ALL OF YOU! ❤️

It not only takes a village to raise kids, it takes a village to run a business. The history of Stacy Peaches and how far it has come, truly shows how much work goes in.

As the peach season progresses this year, I will blog along the way! Stay tuned for updates. But for now, head over to the Facebook page and give us a like. 👍🏼