Citrus and Peach trees

[PeakOiler]

if we have the bounty we did three years ago, you are welcome to all you care for. Our pear trees had scarcely a flower on them this year.

JJ: If the weather is more forgiving this year, and we get good harvests, I will certainly trade you some peaches for some plums!

[PeakOiler]

There is always a good chance of having severe weather here in Central Texas in Springtime that can damage my peach trees. But if the storms miss them, I plan on having a peach harvest party this June for family, friends, and acquaintances. We'll see what happens...

There are a lot of immature peaches forming.

I will do a better job at thinning them out this season. Last year, many formed too close together, resulting in smaller fruit.

[JJ]

what he said, peach trees COVERED with fruit, as is the plum tree.

[PeakOiler]

Yesterday I attached bird netting around one of the pvc pipe frames over one of the smaller peach trees. Still more to do with regard to protecting the other peach trees from birds. Time to make another scarecrow.

Meanwhile a couple of the potted Meyers lemon trees are going crazy! Some lemons are already forming:



I think the citrus have been getting too much water. Some of the leaves are yellowing. One of the orange trees is still covered with blossoms. I love the fragrance of citrus blossoms. The bees apparently do too.

[PeakOiler]

Deleted. Double post...

[PeakOiler]

The strong wind gusts today have removed some of the weaker small peaches forming on the trees. The thunderstorm early this AM also brought about an inch of rain!

[Ludi]

We got high winds last night, still gusting today, which thinned the plums but many remain. As far as I can see, we do not have a single peach or nectarine.

[PeakOiler]

We got high winds last night, still gusting today, which thinned the plums but many remain. As far as I can see, we do not have a single peach or nectarine.

If you're interested, Ludi, we can rendezvous and I'll be more than happy to share some of the peaches I'm growing with you.

In June, when the peach production is peaking, I'll PM you.

[Ludi]

That would be great! My sister lives in Austin, so maybe I can combine visiting her with meeting up with you.

I don't know if I have anything much to swap, but would be happy to pay for some peaches with $ if necessary.

[PeakOiler]

In spite of Nature's winds recently that thinned some of the fruit, there are still many hundreds of peaches on the trees.

Who's got a good recipe for peach wine?

[jdmartin]

Time for me to get active on this thread again.

My peach tree has peaches on it! Considering it's only 3 years old or so, I'm pretty happy. Right now I have about half a dozen little peaches on there.

So now what? Will they just become peaches on their own? Will the birds try to eat these? Should I care if they do on a 3 year old tree?

Lots of questions...but no pictures. At least not right this second.

[PeakOiler]

Time for me to get active on this thread again.

My peach tree has peaches on it! Considering it's only 3 years old or so, I'm pretty happy. Right now I have about half a dozen little peaches on there.

So now what? Will they just become peaches on their own? Will the birds try to eat these? Should I care if they do on a 3 year old tree?

Lots of questions...but no pictures. At least not right this second.

One of my observations regarding birds and peaches is that the birds will damage the fruit and not necessarily eat the fruit. The damaged peaches releases a scent that bugs like, and then the birds eat the bugs on the fruit. (I suppose the birds know that bugs have more calories than peach fruit.)

I've put bird netting around pvc pipe frames over the smaller trees as shown earlier in this thread.

[jdmartin]

Hey Peakoiler, I have a question. Both my apple tree & peach tree set fruit, this being the 2nd year they're in the ground. I had about a dozen apple buds and maybe half a dozen peach buds.

The last few days all of the apple buds except 1, which is growing into a pretty good apple, were on the ground. Same with the peaches - two bigger growing ones are still on the tree, the others were lying beneath it today. Now I thought it was birds for sure, but I was doing some reading on "June Drop" . Do you think maybe this is what I've got? Neither tree is very large - I bought both of them bare root from a nursery with special stocked trees, not bigger ones from Lowes or anything, and they were shipped to me last (2009) spring. I'm wondering if the trees knew on their own they were too small to support all those fruits and dumped most of them.

Thoughts?

[PeakOiler]

Hey Peakoiler, I have a question. Both my apple tree & peach tree set fruit, this being the 2nd year they're in the ground. I had about a dozen apple buds and maybe half a dozen peach buds.

The last few days all of the apple buds except 1, which is growing into a pretty good apple, were on the ground. Same with the peaches - two bigger growing ones are still on the tree, the others were lying beneath it today. Now I thought it was birds for sure, but I was doing some reading on "June Drop" . Do you think maybe this is what I've got? Neither tree is very large - I bought both of them bare root from a nursery with special stocked trees, not bigger ones from Lowes or anything, and they were shipped to me last (2009) spring. I'm wondering if the trees knew on their own they were too small to support all those fruits and dumped most of them.

Thoughts?

Yeah, your trees are probably still too young to produce fruit. One of my plums blossomed this Spring but no fruit formed. IIRC, my peach trees dropped their fruit too when they were younger.

[jdmartin]

Cool, I feel better now :D I was gettin' a little worried...

Hey Peakoiler, I have a question. Both my apple tree & peach tree set fruit, this being the 2nd year they're in the ground. I had about a dozen apple buds and maybe half a dozen peach buds.

The last few days all of the apple buds except 1, which is growing into a pretty good apple, were on the ground. Same with the peaches - two bigger growing ones are still on the tree, the others were lying beneath it today. Now I thought it was birds for sure, but I was doing some reading on "June Drop" . Do you think maybe this is what I've got? Neither tree is very large - I bought both of them bare root from a nursery with special stocked trees, not bigger ones from Lowes or anything, and they were shipped to me last (2009) spring. I'm wondering if the trees knew on their own they were too small to support all those fruits and dumped most of them.

Thoughts?

Yeah, your trees are probably still too young to produce fruit. One of my plums blossomed this Spring but no fruit formed. IIRC, my peach trees dropped their fruit too when they were younger.

[PeakOiler]

Hundreds of small peaches are still forming on my trees. I checked the local grocery's prices today for Texas peaches: $1.97/lb. About twice the price from last year.

<--updates Garden Logbook...

Most of the peaches on my trees aren't nearly ready yet.

More rain would be nice.

[PrestonSturges]

I have one dwarf peach tree that is nearly ripe. It was mislabeled at Lowes (no surprise there), so I'm unsure what it is.

I read that peaches like fertilizer, like citrus.

[jdmartin]

Deer keep munching on my peach tree. You guys got any good ideas? I'm thinking of hooking up some kind of motion sprinkler to chase 'em off. I've tried pissing near the trees, doesn't seem to be working. Any other thoughts?

[PrestonSturges]

Deer keep munching on my peach tree. You guys got any good ideas? I'm thinking of hooking up some kind of motion sprinkler to chase 'em off. I've tried pissing near the trees, doesn't seem to be working. Any other thoughts?

Do you live in the country or do you deal with a home owners association? Deer can be kept at bay by a heavy nylon mesh deer fence that is pretty inconspicuous, but it needs posts. In the country you might get by with a wire "cattle panel" which is I think 16 ft wide, which would make a 5' circle.

[PeakOiler]

Deer keep munching on my peach tree. You guys got any good ideas? I'm thinking of hooking up some kind of motion sprinkler to chase 'em off. I've tried pissing near the trees, doesn't seem to be working. Any other thoughts?

Depending on the laws where you live, shoot it. Harvesting one deer yields far more calories than the peach tree could produce. Even if it isn't hunting season, doesn't one have the right to protect one's property from pests?

Edit: This was my 2000th post. Fission. I'd rather the rating be fusion, since I'm using more solar energy these days, and the Sun is still the only working fusion reactor in the solar system...