Posted: 5/24/2012 3:47:38 PM EDT
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I have got to come clean and confess that I have reached the conclusion that Fruit Trees (particularly Peach and Plum) will simply just rip your heart out.
Countless hours of research on pruning and spraying followed by many hours of each only to have what looked at the start of the year to be a great crop turn into a shriveled and oozing disappointment. Seriously, early spring both were loaded with dime sized fruit. Now the few that are left are shriveled and dead or oozing some kind of clear puss. Not one clean stinking piece of fruit of the trees. The Plumbs got close, starting to ripen and then started leaking puss or molding and turning brown. The peaches pretty much did the same thing even though their not to the ripe point yet ....must be the same fungus/bugs/whatever. Kind of disappointing, maybe I need more doses of anti fungal and insecticide. On the positive side the almost inedible hog pears seem to be doing fine and the apples still look nasty but they fall into the edible range. |
| I've got a nectarine that should be about four years old now. It blossomed this spring, but I'll be damned if I can find a single fruit on it. Hopefully the orange trees recovered well enough from the frost they received a couple winters back to put on a decent crop. |
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At this point I’m thinking of continuing until next spring…waiting on the first sign of fruit then simply burn them with fire.
I feel in some small way It might make me feel better to at least kill the vermin. I don’t know off hand what kind of pear tree I have but it seems pretty impervious to disease. The fruit is hard and bland but at least in a pinch they will add to emergency rations and appear to store very well. Hard tasteless fruit is better than no fruit. |
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Quoted:
My uncle had a pretty good sized hobby orchard. It takes a lot of work. Well, here's what I don't quite understand: About 15 years ago, we planted a bunch of various fruit trees, grape vines,etc Already had some old,existing apple trees, that we pruned heavily and fertilized. I spent a lot of time and energy spraying this and that every couple weeks and tending them. All for naught, in most instances. Lost all the cherry trees within 5 years. Everything else has sort of hung on. Gave up doing ANYTHING to them about 5 years ago. In those 5 years, had 1 year that we got a couple dozen peaches, and 2 years we got bushels of apples. (Grapes have produced VERYwell until last two years.) Funny part is, as a kid, we had apple,plum, peach and cherry trees, and they produced TONS of fruit every year, except for the peach trees; they would have a bad year every now and again. And my dad never did anything to them! What gives? Hardier varieties back then (although we do currently have some heirloom varieties, esp apples), environmental changes, new, invasive pests? |
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Quoted:
What gives? Hardier varieties back then (although we do currently have some heirloom varieties, esp apples), environmental changes, new, invasive pests? IDK, it was a long time ago and he's long since passed away. I do remember that he went out of his way to find and plant trees that were old school, even back then. He sprayed the heck out of everything. Back then, the chemicals he could buy and use were probably much more effective than what you can get today. And despite using all of that spray, he still had a 1/2 dozen bee hives right next to the orchard and managed not to kill them. IIRC, he covered them when he sprayed. |
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Quoted:
We have a peach tree on the border of our parking lot at work. During Summer it always has edible fruit. No one prunes, fertilizes, or sprays that thing. See now thats what I was about to say. Leave the damn things along and let them grow. Do you think they sprayed shit all over them the last 1000 years, hell no! Let them grow and maybe dust them once a season to prevent bugs. Blackberrys are easily grown maybe you should look into them..... 
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Quoted:
I've got a nectarine that should be about four years old now. It blossomed this spring, but I'll be damned if I can find a single fruit on it. Hopefully the orange trees recovered well enough from the frost they received a couple winters back to put on a decent crop. The blossoms need to be pollenated to produce fruit. No pollen, no fruit. See if u can order nectarine pollen online. If u can, it usually comes in a cloth sack that u shake/sprinkle over each blossom or whole tree. The birds and the bees... Ya know ? 
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nice looking peach trees Quoted:
Had already eaten quite a few but: http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g58/rocksarge/IMG_20120506_092002.jpg http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g58/rocksarge/IMG_20120506_091950.jpg I just water em. Feed em when I'm supposed to and use organic soap from Home Depot. Something ate (animal) about 6 of my peaches (I WAS FUCKING PISSED)! My wife with our tropic snow and beauty peaches. |