That looks super tasty!
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Well the peach/nectarine harvest this year is a right off. Of maybe 200 I bagged, about 10 were edible, of those three had no insect holes. All fruit were small and of poor quality.
Almost every peach had ants digging holes in them and farming maggots or somesuch. Other beetle like creatures were also eating them. Most of the bags appear to have been chewed through by insects or deteriorated around the top of the fruit. The ants had access regardless though.
The Peachtree had serious defoliation issues due to aphids early in the season, and it took time to get a pesticide program in place that worked. Thereās also a very serious mole problem in the area destroying the roots. I believe itās these factors that cause the ripening to be delayed by over a month, which gave extra time for bugs to destroy the peaches within the bags.
Last year worked very well following the same procedure with no pesticides, but I believe the pests hit much terribly harder this second year.
Iāve planted three more trees which will be in good producing form next year, but Iām afraid Iām going to have to hit them incredibly hard with a lot of poisons to get any kind of harvest. Iām not sure whether to bother bagging or not next year. Iāll give growing peaches and nectarines one more chance next year. Iām considering giving up on them completely.
How do some people grow peaches out in the open, or even with no pesticides? Completely climate related? Is this due to hot humid summers drawing the pests?
Almost no one has zero issues. But in a dry summer climate like California itās a lot easier. Hot humid climates are the worst for many stone fruits. You might want to put your efforts more into fruits that are better adapted.
This past year I sprayed zero and had perfect looking peaches. If it werenāt for the squirrels, I would be almost issue free. The one thing I will be spraying for next year is borers, but that is just around the base of the tree. I live in a very dry climate though. In my opinion peaches are probably the most reliable pesticide free fruit to produce, mainly due to the natural protection afforded by the fuzz. Nectarines are much trickier once they ripen, when I start to notice bugs finding their way into the fruit the softer it gets.
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Iāve NEVER sprayed or used chemical fertilizers on my fruit trees. I have an issue with scale on citrus, aphids on my cherry trees, and rust spots on my pear trees, as well as raccoons, skunks & rodents, but Iāve been using alternative methods. Some plc on my peach/nectarines, but fortunately the fruits are still doing well enough for me that I donāt feel its necessary to spray chemicals on the fruits my kids will be eating. Added an electric fence this year to help protect my ripening peaches and nectarines. Also spread some cayenne pepper around strategically to hopefully deter the night raiding varmints.
Anthony
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Where can I obtain an Early or Late Crawford?
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Taste test this weekend. Contender easily finished ahead of Glowing Star, an unknown variety from a roadside stand (possibly in the Flaminā Fury family), and Finger Lakes Super Hardy.
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Thatās good to know, thanks Fruitnut. A nearby area produces the best peaches in the country. Also grapes. I think it is a bit dryer, but Iām still in the ballpark. This and that whole area are incredibly humid and hot all summer long. Iām trying to visit a commercial operation to ask some questions. Iām not sure how open they will be about giving information out considering itās their business though.
Phill, sounds great, but peaches are considered very difficult to grow at home here.
I am looking around for other fruits that I actually like to eat. Itās been difficult to test what does well though as my conditions are far from laboratory.
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As noted above, I got Early Crawford wood from Olpea and would be happy to send you some this winter. If you prefer a full tree, you can get it from the Arboreum:
http://arboreumco.com/store/products/early-crawford
They also sell Late Crawford:
http://arboreumco.com/store/products/late-crawford
Keep in mind that they donāt stock all the varieties each year, so you may need to keep an eye on them for a few years to get both.
Iāve independently verified thisā¦
Even after freezing a few gallon ziplocks of White River, I still had a lot left. So, I cut up almost 5 pounds of them, pulled the skins off (most of which came without a problem, even without blaching) and made some jam.
After cooking it (no water added, just like I did for the Loring jam) and mashing it down:
I used the same ratio of sugar as with the Loring recipe (~50% by weight. 77 oz peach, 38 oz sugar). I compared the Loring Jam vs the White River jam on yogurt and there is no contest. The WR jam isnāt bad, but there isnāt all that much flavor to it, while the Loring Jam is pretty good. Itās very different from Black Currant jam, which is much sharper. But, if Iām in the mood for a sweet and milder yet still flavorful jam, I can see myself using the Loring.
I need to find someone else with different tastes to give the White River to. Either that, or use it as a sweetener for smoothies, as the flavor probably isnāt strong enough to change the overall taste.
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Waiting for Madison peaches to ripen. Iāve picked a few that were pretty good, about 12-13 brix but we have some dry weather so I might wait until they start dropping.
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This is off a big box store āWhite Princessā I bought to graft onto. I kept two branches each with a peach on. This is the second and the one that looked best but the first that I ate was superb. I wish I had a brix meter. The 1st one was as sweet as syrup.
This second one was lacking the same syrup sweetness. About 1/2 as sweet.
Anyway, āWhite Princessā peach:
Dax
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Good to know Dax, my Son-In-Law bought a couple of these at Walmart and they seem to be doing well, though too young to fruit. Iād never heard of them before he brought them home. Very tasty looking though 
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Thanks for the info. Somehow I skipped over that post in the chain. I have looked at the Arboreum before, but the peaches Iāve been interested in were never available. I will have to be more attentive and persistent.
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@alan - Just like you said, my PF 24 C are huge. The first one dropped today. It looked perfect. It tasted quite bland, unfortunately. I did not even bother to check its brix.
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Itās complete different from my PF24. It is sweet with tart and acid. I like it a lot with the complex flavor. I consider my white lady bland. As this is my first year to get peaches I hope it gets better later.
I have eaten this variety for several years now. This was the first time it was not goid. We have had so much rain this summer. The fruit have sized up larger than normal (it is not a small peach to begin with). We had a break of no rain for about 10 days. Otherwise, it has rained quite often including last night. I am not surprised it tasted bland. Fortunately, it is not the norm.
Congrats, they look very nice. How do they taste, compared to previous years? Werenāt you also growing Redhaven or Reliance? Are those done for the year? If so, howād they turn out?
Hope you read my topic about peaches in other orchards I manage being quite good. Usually the way I manage my peaches works very well, but this year the rain made my trees just too vigorous. Next time it is this wet and trees are growing too vigorously even while holding a full crop Iām attacking the roots, even though it is risky- hard to know how much to do.
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Alan I think it would take cutting major roots to affect the trees water balance. Thatās done some with a big chisel and powerful tractor but mainly to control tree size.
Even in Texas the best peaches, highest brix, are grown on deep sandy loam soils in areas with 30 inches rain per yr. In Texas 30 inches is considered semi arid. Deep clay loam soils in river bottoms are considered too strong for peaches. The trees grow too much. Those soils are better for pecan a tree that benefits from 50-60 inches of water around here.
I think your soil must supply too much water. Not just from the mulch but in the top 6ft. Is there a water table in the top 6-8ft?
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