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Alright - we planted our 'dwarf' peach tree six years ago as a sapling; she is now approx. 14' x 14' - so much or a dwarf and she has been pruned back. Year before last she started to fruit but we were so inexperienced with fruit trees, let alone stone fruit, we weren't certain how to correctly purge the fruit she was bearing (which was way too much). We did what we thought was right, but it wasn't enough, so what fruit remained didn't get very big, and to top that off, we didn't know 'when' to harvest and we pretty much lost the yield to bugs. She skipped last year since she was tapped out - apparently peach trees can bare so much they can actually starve themselves off in one season. We got lucky....

This year, I built some fork braces for limbs too heavy with fruit so branches didn't snap, and she self-purged quite a bit so we helped as much as we could - a success! She still bore a lot of fruit so they weren't really large - largest this year was tennis ball-sized, smallest edible was about golf ball-sized. We have been paying close attention to the weight of limbs in addition to the state of the fruit to ensure we were picked close to ripeness as we could. Over the past two-weeks it's been hit-and-miss for ripeness but today we called it and went out to pick... what this album documents is one effort over three-trips outside to yield a total of 41 pounds of peaches, not including what was given to tour neighbors as we picked.. There's still perhaps another 20 pounds to go but some of these were not ripe enough yet, or are too high (so I will let the bees have 'em).

making jams, peach slices, halves ,and puree for freezing. Our parrots will be happy as well for treats to last the year.

Note: the only 'treatment' we used for bug control is Neem Oil.

And yes, "Peaches" by PUSA played in my head all day.

Alright - we planted our 'dwarf' peach tree six years ago as a sapling; she is now approx. 14' x 14' - so much or a dwarf and she has been pruned back. Year before last she started to fruit but we were so inexperienced with fruit trees, let alone stone fruit, we weren't certain how to correctly purge the fruit she was bearing (which was way too much). We did what we thought was right, but it wasn't enough, so what fruit remained didn't get very big, and to top that off, we didn't know 'when' to harvest and we pretty much lost the yield to bugs. She skipped last year since she was tapped out - apparently peach trees can bare so much they can actually starve themselves off in one season. We got lucky.... This year, I built some fork braces for limbs too heavy with fruit so branches didn't snap, and she self-purged quite a bit so we helped as much as we could - a success! She still bore a lot of fruit so they weren't really large - largest this year was tennis ball-sized, smallest edible was about golf ball-sized. We have been paying close attention to the weight of limbs in addition to the state of the fruit to ensure we were picked close to ripeness as we could. Over the past two-weeks it's been hit-and-miss for ripeness but today we called it and went out to pick... what this album documents is one effort over three-trips outside to yield a total of **41 pounds** of peaches, not including what was given to tour neighbors as we picked.. There's still perhaps another 20 pounds to go but some of these were not ripe enough yet, or are too high (so I will let the bees have 'em). making jams, peach slices, halves ,and puree for freezing. Our parrots will be happy as well for treats to last the year. Note: the only 'treatment' we used for bug control is Neem Oil. And yes, "Peaches" by PUSA played in my head all day.

(post is archived)

[–] 2 pts (edited )

That's a wicked haul! You can freeze slices as well my wife does it, skin off. Think she poaches them first but don't quote me on that.

Pro tip for next season: get a big ol' bottle of apple cider vinegar and a few weeks before before they start budding/blossoming, spray that shit all over the tree like once a fortnight.

Then once all the blossoms are gone and the leaves start leafing start spraying again once a fortnight till you CBF. This will help with leaf curl other fungus things.

ACV is good for all trees pre/post blossoming to keep away fungus/blackspot etc.

Keep using the Neem oil though for aphids and bugs and shit.

This was last season "preharvest" (pic8.co) we were probably getting 5-8kgs every couple of days for like 2 months sadly no photos

[–] 1 pt

awesome tips - thank you!

as for skinning - I did all of 'em, hahah. sharpened my paring knife and went to town. Took about 2.5 hours to peel about 30 pounds (estimate since not all of them made it to the final step)

[–] 2 pts

Sorry, I should have also said the ratio is 1 cup of acv to 5 litres of water (8oz to 1gallon?)

[–] 1 pt

noted!

I was telling my wife your ACV tip, and likewise she says thank you! To that end, she did remind that we did use BT for treating curl early on, and it helped tremendously. will incorporate all of these into the new 'peach tree caring toolbelt'

[–] 1 pt

Oh yeah peeling them is horrendous! Hahah :⁠-⁠D

[–] 2 pts

Sometimes you can learn for free, sometimes you work/pay for it... See if you can find a farmers market. If they sell peaches, ask for advice about pruning and when to prune. Or, offer them a hand with their trees for a few hours/day and pick up some knowledge. Never hurts to ask.

Also, peach salsa is pretty decent.

Is the pruned wood good for anything besides making lye? Idk if it can be chipped up (maybe soaked in water? idk) and added to a grill to cook over or not.

[–] 2 pts (edited )

yes, I'm on track with your tip as well, about asking locals - the next step!

i use pruned peach branches for smoking pork mostly.

I love peach salsa - I like mine with a shot of ghost or reaper, and it is phenominal on goetta breakfast tacos.

[–] 1 pt

That is awesome, I wish I had fruit trees. Looks like a good haul.

[–] 1 pt

I feel old saying this: back in my day, the color of peaches was peach.

[–] 1 pt

yeah, it's a trip to see these so red. from what I have found, their color can vary, but I was not expecting such a vibrant fruit.

[+] [deleted] 1 pt
[–] 1 pt

That is an awesome haul!! Are you planning to put some in some hot sauce?

[–] 1 pt

I'm certain I will at some point. It will lost likely be a habanero sauce - maybe a tropical with pineapple and passion fruit