Whoa. That is really bad!
It is getting worse every year despite yearly spraying of a bunch of fungicides. I sprayed with Chlorothalonil for the first time this spring. It did not stoped black knots that have formed since last year so I am not surprised.
I will spray Chlorothalonil again this fall. If Insee no improvement next spring, I probably will kiss the plum trees good bye.
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My plums in RI were the worst too. Made me sad. As they took so long to fruit, and the fruit was excellent.
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I can’t say I have. That’s a special sort of ugly right there.
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Some fruit like plums are ripening. Nectarines are turning colors.
Good news - Bugs seem to slow down, chipmunks, squirrels, groundhogs, raccoons and birds.
Bad news - animals are ramping up. Chipmunks, squirrels, groundhogs, raccoons, birds, etc.
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First plum of the season, Early Magic. Ripened around July 19-20 in my zone 6 a.
It is sweeter as it softens and turns reddish purple. Those who like it firmer can pick them a bit earlier while it is more red than purple. Sweet/tart taste. Very productive but also attracts a lot of black knots.
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@mrs really thinking of you. I love to have you try Lavina. It is sweet and has nice, pleasing aroma to it.
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@Ahmad
I let Snack Time hung til they soft. They were sweet by then. The firm ones were quite sour. I prefer H13-23. They are sweet, both firm and soft.
Is this around the time to pick Arctic Glo? The ones I ate had intense flavor of both sweet and tart.
I picked Arctic Glo from July 17-27. This year I didn’t like it very much, was not very flavorful. Arctic Star is much better, and it overlaps with Arctic Glo, so I am going to fully topwork Arctic Glo.
I agree about your assessment of Snack Time, and H13-23. Did H13-23 crack for you this year?
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Both had some cracking but they did not crack as badly as Arctic Glo. I think Arctic Star graft did not take.
My Saturn donut peaches are fabulous this year. Just picked this morning. Most still firm but sweet. Dry weather is helping with sugar level.
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Its beautiful too! Love the color!
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From my yard, the last two Arctic Glo. This year, picking time aroundAug 8 for soft ripe. A blend of sweet and tart.
Arctic Sweet started picking Aug 15, very sweet. Found my refractometer. Brix was 24.
@ahmad has you measured brix of your fruit this season?
Of the two, Arctic Glo is more interesting but its sweetness/tartness did not blend smoothly. In one fruit, the soft, ripe side was sweet and the firmer side was quite tart.
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Not many of them, but I measured a Candy Sprinkles this morning and it had a 23.5 brix.
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With no rain more than two weeks now and no rain in sight, my fruit are sweeter than typical years. Arctic Sweet lives up to its name.
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its those years with the perfect conditions and lack of fruit stealers that keep us trying to grow great fruit. congrats!
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Thanks, Steve. The weather (no rain at ripening time) is perfect. Unfortunately, I have had more stealers than I can count, nights and days. These are samples.
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My AG all give in to brown rot half way through the season. I really need to top work the tree but my success grafting peach and nectarine has been to dismal to make the attempt.
@busch83 Shawn,
I’ve found my way of grafting peaches and nectarines with much more successful rate in my zone 6a if I do these:
- the branches (rootstocks) that I plan to graft scionwood on are no more than 3 years old. Old branches or old tree trunks do not work for me.
- scionwood need to be in a good condition (from healthy trees, kept fresh in the fridge, etc)-
- temp on the grafting day and 3-4 after grafting should be at least 68-70 F and remain stable (not 70 one day drop to 60 the next day, etc). 70-80 F for 4-5 days in a row is a good temp stretch for peach callousing in my experience. Yo-yo temp is not good.
Have you try T-budding in late summer, early fall. I have had good luck in the past with budding. @fruitnut has posted an excellent tutorial in the Reference section, I think.
Top work old trees and graft on those stumps probably work well with apples, pears or even cherries. Not sure about peaches.
Some people may have success grafting peaches and nectarines without much effort but not me. This is how I have better success and want to share it with you.
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I had a tiny bit of lick tbud but after leafing out for a bit even that withered. I’ll have to look for fruitnut’s guide and gove it a shot.
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