Tuesday, July 19, 2016

The Peach Tree Saga

Up very early but probably still won't go outside.  The excessive humidity isn't helping the bronchitis!

The saga of the peach tree (outside the kitchen)

This tree is a seedling.  I think maybe Red Haven.  I have kept it halfway pruned and sprayed irregularly for a couple of year.
It is hardy since it escaped the frosts this year and set a heavy crop for such a young tree.

Once the fruit began turning color, the resident groundhog has been feasting regularly.  This morning I discovered he had guests:



I even found some fresh pits on the porch steps!.
 

Some of our heavy winds combined with the weight of the fruit caused a couple of major limbs to break.  I left them attached hoping the remaining bark would allow ripening.  Each day I would check but they were still too hard.  Of course each day meant I lost another feast of fruit.



Yesterday was the last straw!  I drug out the drop  cord, the electric saw and my new ladder.  I picked all the peaches from the broken limbs but left a few on the east side to see if they would ever soften.

 

after trimming,


This side of the tree shows the broken area better.


This is the complete harvest from yesterday.  I was happy to see some size and lots of blemish free peaches.


So, the peach tree lives for another year.........

Random Picture:



6 comments:

  1. Every year I consider ordering a few dwarf and extra-dwarf fruit trees. Then I read other blogs, and remember what I have here -- the deer, the racoons, the groundhogs, the scab, the moths, the ... well, you get the picture. I still look at catalogs (especially Stark Bros), but I only look.... I applaud your tenacity on the fruit front. Hang in there.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Over the years, I could have bought all the fruit I wanted or needed from orchards and been without the stress of spraying, and loosing fruit to frosts or varmints. I am done!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Done? You? We'll see..... If you ARE done, just look at all the time/effort that will be freed up for other things.

      Delete
  3. The peaches look wonderful. I like your random picture, it reminds me of the state where I grew up (Missouri!).

    ReplyDelete
  4. What did you do with your peaches?

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am sorry your limb broke. I have had raspberry stems broken, and I'm not sure if it's the wind, birds, or squirrels. I did have some of the raspberries ripen still, with the stems bent. I suppose it's different with peaches. I hope they were good. Thanks for stopping by my Wildflower Wednesday post.

    ReplyDelete