Latest Update 2nd October 2016.
Peach Tree
- This year I skipped spraying my stone-fruit with lime sulphur again, but perhaps because of our wet gloomy winter and early spring, the leaf curl attack was more intense than last year and up to half the tree's leaves were affected.
- As usual I had been religiously spraying my fruit trees with aerated compost tea every month, but the impact was inadequate and although I expect to get a crop this year, it looks like it may well be diminished.
- By removing effected leaves every three or four days, the attack has been held, but at this point, the new growth has not yet become dominant.
- It looks like I may need to revert to using lime sulphur next year.
- In spring the soil should be generously top dressed with home made compost and mulched with straw to maintain fertility.
- Peaches benefit from careful pruning in summer to encourage the set and quality of fruit the following year.
- Family Group: Rosaceae.
- Garden bed type: Ring line irrigated bed.
- Recommended soil pH: 6.0 - 7.0.
- Plant Spacings (centres): 4m.
- Pollination: Self Pollinated.
- Good Companions: Hellebore, Tansy, Lavender, Strawberry.
- Climate: Warm Temperate.
- Geographic Hemisphere: Southern.
- This food is very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium.
- It is also a good source of Dietary Fibre, Vitamin A, Niacin and Potassium, and a very good source of Vitamin C.
- More from nutrition data.self.com.
- Full sun.
- Minimise soil disturbances to maintain a natural soil structure.
- Feed the Soil
- Remove mulch, dead leaves and fallen branches from the previous year in September and dispose of them in your compost heap.
- Apply a 60mm top dressing of home made compost and cover with fresh straw mulch.
- Keep it clear of the tree's trunk to prevent collar rot.
- Propagate Peaches by taking soft wood cuttings and grafting them onto a suitable root stock.
- Lightly prune Peach trees in November and reduce fruit numbers to improve size and quality.
- Prune again in late Summer after the fruit has been harvested. Cut the current years growth back by half its length. Cut out any damaged, dead or diseased branches. (Click to see Demo).
- Remove the main leader and any other branch threatening to increase the tree's height too much. It keeps the branches low for spraying and netting and keeps fruit within reach when harvesting.
- Don't prune in winter as this will promote foliar growth at the expense of fruit growth.
- Sharpen and sterilise your secateurs before cutting into living tissue on any plant.
- Pick from the tree when the fruit is ripe in summer. They are ripe when they yield slightly to pressure from your thumb. Do this gently or you will bruise the fruit.
- Preserve your surplus in glass preserving jars.
- Poach them in sugar syrup, pack them in the jars while still hot and sterilise them in a pressure cooker (see manufacturers instructions).
- Store them on shelves in a cool shady place in the utility room.
- Leaf Curl.
- Apply a foliar spray of aerated compost tea at the pink bud stage.
- Repeat foliar sprays every month until leaf fall. Thoroughly spray the newly set fruit in November.
- After the tree has lost its leaves in autumn, spray it with lime sulphur to control the development of fungi.
- Just before bud burst in spring, spray the tree again with lime sulphur.
- If the tree becomes affected with leaf curl, remove all the affected leaves as disease appears on them. Dispose of the leaves in your rubbish bin in plastic bags.
- Remove rotting fruit, old mulch and decaying vegetation in autumn.
- Greenhouse whitefly.
- Monthly foliar sprays of aerated compost tea toughen foliage against whitefly damage.
- Control any serious infestations by spray your tree thoroughly with organic horticultural oil (Eco-oil in Australia) as early in their life cycle as possible.
- Regular repeat sprays may be necessary to keep them under control.
- Birds.
- Use exclusion netting to keep flying pests away. It doesn't protect all the fruit, but Its OK if the birds get some.
- General.
- Regular applications of aerated compost tea boost the natural defences of peaches by colonising the leaf surfaces with beneficial microbes. They defend the plant against airborne pests and diseases.
- Similarly, proper soil preparation including regular applications of home made compost boosts the community of beneficial microbes, which defend the tree's roots against plant pathogens.
