Or ‘Luck be a Larry’ (Guys & Dolls reference).
I’ve tried to sell my grapes and figs on Craigslist but get zero results.
Are there other places to market plants online?
You could try Facebook Marketplace. It reaches a different demographic.
This Weekend is the Springfield and Cave Junction Propagation Fairs
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Etsy, maybe? I have never sold on there but I’ve bought things a few times.
If you mean locally, then I’d say you should try Nextdoor. I’m on some Seattle-area plant swap groups on there, and there’s a decent amount of activity on them. I know there’s a way to sell stuff as well, but I’m not as familiar with that.
I just bought an 8’ Elberta Peach Tree at Home Depot for $68.
Hopefully you are planning a fungicide spray regimen.
Educate me
Peaches are difficult to grow and manage in the Willamette Valley. They really don’t like the prolonged, cool, wet spring. Evidently it is possible to manage all of the disease pressure with significant planning and effort, but it is more than most home growers are willing to figure out and do. I don’t have a formula for you because it is more than I was willing to consider, unless I had a handy location that was protected from rain.
Peaches also have different growth and fruiting habit than other home orchard trees and tend to be relatively short lived even in less hostile growing environments.
I haven’t done a good job of pruning and shaping my Frost peach, which has been the most forgiving and productive of the curl resistant varieties I’ve tried. I’m likely to graft it over to plums since the canopy is beginning to get higher than I’d like. I think my prospects for a new, younger tree or graft are better than trying to renew this maybe 9 years in the ground or so Frost that I have - with the amount of effort I’m willing and able to give it.
Most of those Elberta trees at your Home Depot are going to have short, unproductive lives. They aren’t suited to the region.
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@murky Why are peaches so much different from other Stone Fruit trees? I met a guy near me with a peach and cherry orchard, maybe I’ll see what he does next that I talk with him.
Yes, talking to him is a great idea.
Why are loquats so different from apples?
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Peaches have been done long-term in the WV.
quoting from a webpage:
HANDLEY’S PEACH COVE FARMS,
21801 South Highway 99E, Canby
“The Handley’s grow several varieties of peaches that ripen from mid-July through the end of August and use no pesticides or chemical fertilizers on their trees…”
I have driven by there dozens of times over the years and the small trees are always very tidy. Albeke Farms above Oregon City mentions ‘Suncrest’. I have walked past this weedy, oddly pruned orchard several times over the years.
So it seems to be possible. One of my Uncles grew ‘Elberta’ and ‘Dixie Gem’ back in the 1960s and I think the family still operated a roadside stand through the 1990s. But I would emerge from his orchards smelling like a sulfur factory.
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I’m still experimenting with reducing sprays to see what’s actually needed for peach leaf curl here. last year I did copper+nufilm then lime sulfur then ziram. this year I did only copper+sticker then lime sulfur. on a neighbor’s tree I did only one spray, just lime sulfur. haven’t checked it yet. I got almost perfect control on my own trees this year, just a couple tips on spice zee nectarine had curl, I assume the tree is hypersensitive and I missed those spots
my gut feeling is I can get acceptable control with a single spray here as long as it’s either ziram or lime sulfur and it’s timed well (as late as possible right before bud break). then once you beat leaf curl in the spring you’re pretty much done, we have dry summers and few pests. seems like a great place to grow peaches
I assume my trees will get canker and die every 10 years on average but it’s so trivial to propagate a peach (plant any peach seed in a pot, wait a year, then t-bud) that I don’t care if I need to replace them
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Selecting Peach and Nectarine Varieties for the Willamette Valley states “The climate in Oregon’s Willamette Valley is characterized by mild, wet winters, with heavy rainfall in the spring tapering off to nearly nothing in July and August. Peaches grown in this climate must be
protected from diseases such as peach leaf curl, coryneum blight, bacterial canker, and brown rot. Peach trees also often require protection from insect pests such as the peach tree borer and the peach twig borer.
Unless you protect your trees adequately, diseases and insects can damage them severely or kill them. Refer to the OSU publication Peach Pest Management Guide for the Willamette Valley”
My Elberta peach gets ravaged by peach leaf curl each year. It is so bad almost all the leaves fall off or I take them off. It still produces some fruit though. However, Indian Free peach and frost seem to be bullet proof when it comes to peach leaf curl. Not in a single infection in all the years I have had them. I also have a Charlotte peach that seems to be doing great so far. I do not spray anything in my collection.
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I have not put my new Home Depot Peach Tree in the ground yet and I have a receipt so I could change my mind. Does anyone have any better ideas?
I want a to buy a Peach Tree that:
- I can eat the fruit fresh (sweet and juicy)
- is self-fruiting (or can be pollinated by my flowering plum tree).
- is not too big or tall (or at least can be pruned that way)
- I can move with my myself with my minivan
- is big/mature enough that it will (likely) fruit within 2 years
- costs less than $80
Is this reasonable?
P.S. I know there are other fruit options but my wife wants a peach (happy wife …)
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Is there any particular rootstock that is best adapted to this area that is compatible with peaches? I can probably find a spot in my yard for a multi-graft peach tree if there’s any hope of success. I was under the impression that there isn’t much of one here, though.
Also, do you mind sharing which part of 8b you’re in? I assume the chance of success is pretty different in the Willamette Valley vs. here in Seattle.
@swincher The only people that I have heard of in the Seattle area that grows peaches is @100904 (Eric) and @jfiorini (Justin).
Edit: I forgot @Seattlefigs grows miniature peaches
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I planted a frost peach tree this season. They are iffy here but frost and Salish Summer Peach (Q 1-8) are a few recommended for the area. WSU Mt vernon trialed both. i forgot which one they say is better but my neighbors grow frost and they fruit without any maintenance.
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I dislike the name, but I’ve been growing ‘Black Boy’ peach for probably about four years now and haven’t had any issues with peach leaf curl. This is its first year to flower heavily though since it was previously set back by livestock grazing. I think I remember seeing very minimal leaf curl the second year, but none the third year. It hasn’t leaved out yet this year though.
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