I just harvested two of my total of 3 great peaches from my orchard this year. I’ve harvest bushels of good peaches with great texture and beauty, but only about 12 brix. What a difference two points makes!
I have no idea what variety this one is, I took the graft wood from an old peach tree- probably over 30 years old on a clients property. I was thinking it was Loring, but it ripens too early- a few days later than Redhaven.
It has the orange flesh of Loring and its sports- but even Johnboy isn’t ripe yet here, and this tree precedes its introduction as a new variety.
The other mystery is how much is it the peach and how much the location. One of the peaches I’ve just started picking that isn’t as good and should be is Earnie’s Choice- not getting the brix.
Everything was well thinned and early, but the soil where the mystery peach is is dry because of competing forest trees to the north and a steep slope.
I’ve decided to stop planting nursery trees in the best exposed part of this slope and move my personal orchard here. I’ve always noticed it’s the first to dry out after a rain, but it took me 25 years to realize that this is where my orchard should be- partially because it has just become suitable because I removed a giant ash tree in the middle of it- but I should have taken out that tree a long time ago.
I’m going to train the trees like I do for my customers, with a long stretch of straight branchless trunk for squirrel baffles. They can find someone else in the area to perform Elmer Fudd impersonations for them.
Alan,
I agree, two points can really be a big difference! Locating a spot on your property to assist in water control - and measuring brix. I bet @fruitnut is very proud right now!
I’ve had the biggest peaches ever this yr. My Valley Sweet averaged nearly one lb. The Fairtime about ready are nearly that big. Just looking at them, as beautiful as they are, tells me the eating quality will be subpar. Valley Sweet was about 16 brix and the Fairtime I ate yesterday was 14 brix. The 14 wasn’t very good. Why are they so big? Because I’ve got fig nursery plants in small pots getting watered 1-2 times a day only ft from these trees. I’ve lost control of the water in my greenhouse.
I think you are on the right track Alan. Hopefully it will help. Also maybe your weather will improve. There are bound to be some dry yrs in the mix. It’s been very wet in many areas lately. I know the Midwest is due for a drought yr. Maybe NY as well.
I picked a nectarine today with 17 brix. Good old Honey Royale, first piece of fruit I’ve harvested from it in 3 years and it’s a huge tree- does nothing but grow wood. I’d be rich if I made my living selling peach scion wood and there was demand for this horrid variety.
It would have gotten a couple points hire if it didn’t have a split pit that brought rot on one side of the fruit.
17 isn’t high enough for a nect without acid anyway. But it was pretty good.
It may not be horrid in Spokane, it is horrid in S. NY. I take it personally because I thought I was a skilled enough pruner and trainer of fruit trees to tame that beast.
I am angry in defeat. No matter how I handle the wood, wood is all it wants to produce. Maybe if I spent hours of every season immediately pulling uprights to horizontal it would behave like a normal nectarine. Summer pruning just doesn’t seem to work.
You’ve gotten this variety to produce well by girdling it? I’ve never heard of needing to do this with stonefruit, especially peaches and nectarines. E plums sometimes need to be festooned, or pulled below horizontal.
