I’ll go off topic here. 1. You need way more trees. 2. The guides here are very good. Scott has the low impact spray schedule and Alan has a synthetic schedule. Both of these guides are probably better than most guides published by major universities. I have been using Alan’s schedule for at least 10 years with mostly great success. I have late apple fly maggot here and a few other things so I have to spray more than the 3 times Alan recommends.
I hope you spend a lot of time here. Many contributors have tons of reports on interesting varieties off all types of fruit.
I am in Illinois as well in the central Illinois area.
For cherries in Illinois tart cherries are much easier to grow than sweet cherries. Best cultivars for sweet cherries in Illinois are BlackGold and WhiteGold. An older heirloom cultivar Black Tartarian is also a decent choice. In Illinois sweet cherries require dedication, a good spray schedule and some way to keep the birds away ( a net or bird scare tape).
This thread will give you an idea of what you will face.
For spraying we have two spray guides. One is organic and one is synthetic. For stone fruits sweet cherries, peaches, etc. most people struggle with the organic one and eventually move to the synthetic one. In Illinois for apples the organic one may work.
I agree the peach has bacterial spot and the apple has scab. Both are extremely common diseases. Copper at leaf fall and again in spring before leaves open is a good treatment for the peach. For scab myclobutanil is the best thing… I think Immunox spray still contains it.
Thank you for the reply. I will pick some of that up next time I am at the store.
So just for clarification, I can mix the Sevin and the Immunox for bugs and some diseases now? Then the Captan (or some other copper spray) in the dormant season?
By the time I was able to get around to messing with the trees, those buds were dried up and brown.
Yesterday evening I sprayed the first round of Immunox. Some of the peach leaves seemed to have grown back and look good for right now.
On a side note the deer decided they needed a snack. Got some of the leaves and small branches on the peach trees and took the top 6” or so off the small golden delicious. I know the best defense would be a fence (but I know my wife would not allow that). Last year I tried some spray from the local farm supply store that did not seem to deter them at all. I have read about Irish Spring soap and dryer sheets. Do either of these work for anyone. Eradication is not a viable option either…in-laws have 165 acres next door and the neighbors have 200+ acres on the other side. So the deer population is large.
Repellents are just a temporary solution. You also need to reapply them (and not forget to reapply them). I don’t think that will work for you in the long term. Many of us on the forum make cages out of fencing to protect the trees when they are young. I think that is a better approach. Here is a thread that discusses cages.
Really fencing in the orchard is the best solution but I don’t have a fenced in orchard. I do have deer pressure and I managed to live with it but I have some damage each year.
Ask her if she ever wants any fruit. Without fencing of some sort to protect against deer, rabbits, voles, and other rodents I think you’ll be wasting your time.