Twenty years ago, a friend of mine introduced me to the most delicious peaches I have ever tasted. I've had peaches in Georgia and elsewhere but nothing has come close to the legendary white peaches of Tewksbury Township, right here in New Jersey.And the white peach legend is as tasty as the fruit itself. 
Drive down the main street in Oldwick and marvel at the grand Victorian houses, all built at the turn of the last century with peach money. Railroad spur lines were built back then to move the incredibly sweet white peaches to market, the best hotels and restaurants in New York, Boston, and Montreal. Those were the salad days and they ended all too soon. Just before WW I, the Jersey white peaches were wiped out by the Peach Blight and Oldwick was hit hard.
So goes the legend but you can't eat a legend.
Every August since 1979, I have bought my zipper-skin white peaches from George Melick's 
Town Farm in Oldwick. He had a small garage in back of his house that doubled as a produce stand. Several years ago, he moved the retail operation down the street and recently built a pole barn there to accommodate the traffic. Before that, he planted a new orchard on Route 513 in Califon, a pick your own place. That's where I went recently with my daughter Kara.
We picked up a basket at the cash register and noticed a sign reminding us to pick only 
what we intended to keep. We
were directed to the white peach trees just outside the Califon pole barn. The trees were heavy with ripe fruit. Due to the drought, the white peaches, actually a faint lime green color, were smaller than last year. But here's the kicker: the smaller peaches were sweeter, something I thought impossible. We wandered about the orchard picking and (occasionally) tasting the sweet fruit. We took our time, looking for the ultimate peach, and saw only one other family while we were there.
Back at the cash register, we were told that this
new, sweeter version cost only 65 cents
per pound. I already had plans for my pickings: sliced peaches over plain yogurt for breakfast and, every now and then, a white peach milkshake (three huge scoops of vanilla ice cream blended with just enough Snapple peach iced tea for texture and two sliced peaches loosely blended to finish). A wonderful tradition, a great day and some sweet eating!
The Deal: pick your own white peaches for 65 cents per pound during August followed by apple and pumpkin picking after Labor Day.
Melick's Town Farm in Califon is open daily from 10 to 6. Call (908) 832-2905 for daily updates.
Check out their website at
www.Melickstownfarm.com for more information on group outings. (The Oldwick farmstand, also open daily in season from 10 to 6, can be reached at (908) 439-2318.)
Directions: I-78 west to exit 24, north on Rt. 517 about one mile to the farmstand on the right (Oldwick) or continue north on 517 for about 5 more miles to Fairmount and turn left at the light on to Rt. 512. Go about four miles, through Califon, and turn right on to Rt. 513. The Town Farm is about 1/2 mile on the right.
- Craig Schulze
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