left Hardired - brix 14…right Harko- brix 16
After 2 successive years of success, I’m enamored with nectarines. Their blemish-free finish is nearly perfect, with little of the spotting and bruising that I see on my less sweet Avalon Pride peaches. I wrapped most of the nectarines with footies to foil the thrips, but even the unwrapped ones showed no scarring. I did hang sachets of Amblyseius cucumeris to feed on immature stages of thrips - so maybe in the future that will be enough protection.
Trees are planted in open bottom planters within a 10’ high EMT structure with a poly tarp cover. The downside is that the confines of the structure limits production and frequent summer pruning is needed to keep trees within bounds.
It could be that the drought conditions of the past 2 years favored their growth. But if that’s the new normal, I’m into nectarines!