From Tree to Tradition: Inside Peach Pickin' Paradise
Birds are chirping, and the sun glistens over the eastern tree line. Families are all around, and kids are running, laughing and excited for the adventure that awaits their day. Rows upon rows of ripe, juicy peaches, ready to be picked. It is a perfect July morning at Peach Pickin' Paradise.
Located less than 200 yards up Highway 21 off Highway 64 is a peach orchard that hosts over 20 varieties of peaches. The orchard, owned by the Morgan family, has made peaches a family business and a way of life.
Peaches date back to the 1930s in the Morgan family. For the father-son business partner duo, Steve and Mark, picking peaches was — and continues to be — the family heritage, spanning five generations.
"My granddad had peaches when this county was booming with peaches in the 1930s. My dad came back from WWII and planted a peach orchard in 1947," Steve recalls.
By the early 1970s, the Morgan family went all-in on making peaches a business venture and a destination point for locals. That's when Peach Pickin' Paradise, a you-pick peaches business, was born.
Mark joined the ranks alongside his father as a family business owner in 2013 and believes this is his calling.
He shares, "Growing up on a farm in agriculture gives you a strong bond to the land. Love for the land gets in you, and I don't know that it ever leaves."
Steve attributes much of the orchard's success to his family's commitment and support.
"I wouldn't have ever tackled this without the support from my wife and kids and all of my family members who spend their summers in the orchard helping out," he shares.
The Morgan family is known as "the peach family" by locals and those from afar.
"Anywhere in the state, I don't have to say I'm a peach grower. Rather, someone will look at me and ask, 'How's the peach crop?' and I'm proud to maintain that tradition."
Mark describes picking peaches as an "experience that keeps them coming back" and notes that they do business face-to-face, just like his father, grandfather and great-grandfather did before him.
When people pick a peach, they "get a sense of nature and accomplishment," Steve says.
Peach season is more than a harvest — it’s a celebration. It’s when the Morgans reconnect with their own loved ones and welcome families from across the country to share in the joy of nature, community and tradition.
To find more information about Peach Pickin’ Paradise, visit their Facebook page.
Steve and Mark Morgan