https://www.pcfma.org/eat/producers/lujan-farm

They are the best. Their peaches and nectarines taste like candy if you get them the correct week.

You need to find a dooryard tree or grow your own.

I agree with gardengal. I've bought hard peaches and nectarines recently that are delicious after sitting out 2-3 days. My sources were Sam's Club, Trader Joe's and my regular grocery store. The ones from Sam's were amazing...large, drop dead gorgeous and juicy/sweet. Went back for more today.

Thanks for the replies, guys. OK, so maybe I should ask some more questions to make sure I'm clear about everything. Every guide I've read or watched about picking stone fruit explicitly says it should have a smell to it. And if it doesn't, it's not going to taste like anything. This has held true for nectarines I've bought at the supermarket that had no smell to them. Their color looked fine and they weren't totally rock hard but even after sitting on the counter for several days and softening up a bit, they still had no taste.

One guide even said that you should be able to smell the fruit just walking past it, so when I bring it up to my nose and smell nothing, I take that as a warning sign. And pretty much everything at the farmers markets has been scentless, from my experience so far. The only time I've found fruit that smells like fruit, it was at the Safeway supermarket several weeks ago, and it was still quite faint. I let those nectarines sit for several days and they ended up being OK, but not great. Certainly better than most I've tried but it still didn't taste like I know it's supposed to.

So gardengal and chloebud, does this fruit have any smell when you're selecting it at the store? Is it hard or soft? Which kind are you getting at Trader Joe's? The organic or regular? I know they have them in bags there as well. I felt and smelled the different types of yellow nectarines at TJ's and they all felt hard and had no smell. I don't know if I've just had bad luck but the ripening trick has never really worked for me. Should a nectarine that is not completely rock hard and has no green color near the stem ripen into a flavorful fruit even if it has no smell? Still very confused!

I have a peach tree and have never noticed it smelling like peaches even when it has ripe fruit.

cjgw, the peaches I bought at TJ's actually smelled better than the nectarines. Both were in those boxes/flats but not organic. The nectarines were good after sitting out, but not quite as good as the peaches. The peaches from Sam's were very fragrant at purchase. I noticed it as I was looking them over. I do think nectarines can be a little more iffy. I tend to buy a lot more peaches. For both peaches and nectarines I look for a good, deeper color. I've found peaches at most markets will have a bit more yield when you press them than nectarines. Sorry, I know that's not much help. You can always try placing them in a bag with an apple or banana to maybe speed up the ripening.

I found this video for nectarines. The guy's voice is a little creepy but maybe his tips will help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfQ906TgGuo

@melikeeatplants: We do have a dwarf nectarine tree but it didn't pollinate properly this year for some reason, which was a huge disappointment. We got maybe 7 fruits that stayed small and green and never developed into edible nectarines. Any idea what the problem could be?

@chloebud: My wife really likes yellow nectarines, especially, so I'm quite desperate to find some. Most of the U-pick farms seem to be closed now, which may be the only way I can find ones that are truly ripe. I have tried the banana/bag method and it's never worked all that well. And that video was one that I watched doing my research. He was one of the only people who didn't mention smell being an indicator of ripeness. From what I've read, the redness doesn't necessarily mean anything and it's more the background color that matters (not green).

I guess what I need to know is if yellow nectarines MUST have some smell and a bit of softness to them in order for them to turn into anything good. Like I said, the nectarines I've inspected at the farmers markets are usually pretty hard and I don't think I've ever found any that smelled. The samples are usually pretty underwhelming as well. So I just don't know if I should buy any and hope that they somehow magically ripen into great tasting fruit or if that's just a myth (as it's seemed to be from what I've tried so far).

CJ I appreciate your quest for top quality fruit. You won't find it at a supermarket or farmers market for stonefruit. You can get excellent pears at the grocery because pears are best picked hard and let to ripen off the tree. Even a home grower does this. Pears that ripen on the tree have the texture ruined. Stone fruit is picked under-ripe/hard so it can be packed & shipped. Notice even at the farmers market they are piled on each other in boxes. You can't do that with ripe fruit! No home grower of stone fruit picks them early unless they are processing the fruit.

When a person (like Chloe for ex.) says the great peaches they are getting at the store it's a red flag to me they have never had a properly managed tree ripened peach. My yard is very fragrant with the smell of ripening fruit. A ripe peach will come off the tree with a gentle twist. Just grabbing it will indent on the fruit. There is a strong smell. I stay outside to eat the peach because it is messy. The flesh melts as you bite into it, juice spills down your chin and onto the ground. It's very sticky because there is a lot of sugar in it. You can't believe how good it tastes. You won't be able to buy a peach at the store for fresh eating after trying this.

It sounds like you are in bay area. I would offer you one of my fruits but I sold my home in San Jose last summer. I hope the new owners are enjoying all my stone fruit. Like you I can't bring myself to buy the rocks at the store.

So if you are in the bay area:

https://www.facebook.com/JandPFarms/

I was lucky enough to live down the street from this guy. He has an honor system fruit stand. The best fruit ironically is the cheap bruised/damaged items because they are the ripest, hence the damage. A lot of the pretty fruit is picked too early because birds hit his trees hard. Still they will be better than what you find at the store because he is not packing them and allows them to ripen longer.

https://andysorchard.com/

Go on a tasting tour at Andy's orchard. You can do sampling and then go pick fruit direct from the tree. Even there I was underwhelmed. Water is very cheap for him and he pumps his trees full of it. The fruits are huge and watered down. He sells by the pound so it works for him :)

https://www.sccl.org/Locations/Los-Altos

There is an apricot orchard in front of the Los Altos library. It is the cities and unfortunately most years the fruit just falls to the ground and the city does nothing with them. You can get excellent apricots there even though you are not allowed pick to I used to hate seeing them rot and would pick a grocery bag full myself.

http://www.davewilson.com/product-information/category/fruit-trees

If you have a yard in the bay area you can fit a fruit tree and keep it small. Plant one!

If you want some excellent Florida mango order some from here now:

https://tropicalacresfarms.com/

And in the fall superb dates:

https://7hotdates.com/shop-usa_single.html

Good luck on your quest!

We were typing at the same time I see. Well, nectarines are all self pollinating to my knowledge. I assume it's a young tree. How long has it been in ground and what is the rootstock? In general semi-dwarf rootstocks are recommended and you just prune to the height you want. Dwarf roostocks can be very weak. I had Fantasia & Double Delight for yellow nectarines. They were amazing. Yes they had to soften not as much as a peach but the would be soft to touch and pull of the tree quite easy.

We are in year 2 of our house with a mature peach and cherry tree and it has been lovely!

The previous owners didn't prune or cull the fruit, so last year the peaches were pretty small and not that great.

We did some major pruning and our peaches are between 1/2 and 1 lb each!

Though they aren't soft, they are very sweet! They smell great when you pick them!

I'm surprised that you can't find good stone fruit at a farmers market in the Bay Area! We usually get the earliest from the Fresno area at our farmers markets and they are usually great!

If you want to take a trip to the North Bay, you are welcomed to come by and pick! I'm out of freezer room and they are rotting on the tree!

I LOVE yellow nectarines! Isn't it a bit late? I picked nectarines from my tree ("Nectarzee", I think) many weeks ago, but I pick when the birds start pecking, not because of aroma. My pluots are just getting pecked now, and my figs usually follow.

Not too helpful, I guess, but when the farmers markets have them around here, it isually when my trees are ripening as well.

IMO, the only way to know for sure is to taste the fruit. When I go to a market, I just taste fruit until I find good ones. I don't buy if I can't taste. When I last went to Lujen's stand, I tried every stone fruit they had... some were just ok, but the nectarines were amazing that week. If I go a market this weekend, it may be a different fruit that is peaking or I may not find any good enough

melikeeatplants, while I disagree that you can't find good fruit at the farmer's markets (it can sometimes be hard, but it is possible), I do agree that Andy's Orchid is amazing. Andy's apricots changed my world!

I plan on planting as many fruit trees as I can fit in my small yard.... it is just very hard to decide on the varieties! Too many trees to choose from! How do I know which ones will taste the best? Such a rough dilemma :)

If you live in the East Bay go to Berkley Bowl, best market on the planet. Currently have multiple varieties of yellow nectarines from which to choose, they even allow you to use a pocket knife and taste before you choose.

robin,

Once i had excellent late season heirloom tomatoes at the Los Altos Farmers market and another time excellent oranges at Ferry's Plaza in SF. Otherwise it's been mostly disappointing, just get vegetables there.

As far as what trees to choose I think most important is spreading your harvest out. You don't want all your trees ripening at the same time. This chart from DWN is pretty handy:

http://www.davewilson.com/sites/default/files/fruit_nut_chart_hg_2010.pdf