I’ve already mentioned how hard it is to thin the peaches on the trees. In my mind, every peach I pull off a tree is a peach we can’t eat but I know that pulling the excess peaches off is good for the tree and will result in bigger, juicier peaches. Vince, on the other hand, just cannot stand to see it happening. He keeps saying “You’re taking off too many!” or “You’re ruining the tree!” He doesn’t understand how hard it is for me also.
I always start off pulling the extra peaches off but as the ones I’ve left on get bigger, they’re suddenly too close again and I have to go back and pull off more. I had waited and not been terribly diligent about doing it because I knew we had a hail storm coming and a freeze but those are behind us now (I hope). Yesterday I walked by the peach tree that I thought I had finished thinning but no . . it still needed more thinning.
Peaches are supposed to be 6 – 8″ apart. What may have been 6″ apart when they were the size of my thumbnail is about 3″ apart now so I had to pull more off.
This is what it looked like under the tree yesterday when I was pulling off the peaches. Vince was out cutting grass in the orchard and I fully expected him to come in and say something but he didn’t so I asked him last night if he saw all the peaches I’d pulled off and he kinda grunted. He said “I’ve just never heard of doing that!” Well . . there are probably lots of things we’ve never heard of but that doesn’t mean they don’t have to be done!
That 6 to 8″ rule is when you’re about 3 weeks out from harvest time so I’m guessing I could have to pull more peaches off this tree. The other peach trees are a bit behind this one. Two trees have peaches that are just starting to get big enough to pull off. Two have teeny tiny peaches right now.
This year our apple and plum trees don’t have a lot of fruit so I don’t think I’m going to have to thin those.
We started out with 8 or 10 pear trees. We’ve lost at least three. In fact Vince cut one last year and there are two more than need cutting. We have never gotten a pear but we have two trees so far that have pears. I’ve learned not to get too excited early but I am hopeful. I’ll be happy if I get enough to make a few jars of pear preserves and I can make pear vinegar from the skins. Yes . . I am getting excited and I shouldn’t be!
Dottie says
When we lived in WV, we had pear, apple, peach, plum and cherry trees. The apple and cherry were always pretty good – the pears took over 10 years before they started producing, the plums were so-so, as were the peaches. The peaches and plums ended up getting bugs and or birds so it was hit or miss, but they sure were good if we hit it right, LOL.
Judy Laquidara says
So, maybe I’ve just been impatient with my pear trees.
Kellie says
Next year, you and Vince should do an experiment with two similar peach trees. He should look after one his way and you do your tree your way and compare the harvest from each.
Judy Laquidara says
I know what will happen. A few years ago, I was gone so much during early spring and asked him to thin the peaches. He said he did but he didn’t take off nearly enough and we had HARD, small and almost tasteless peaches.
Susan Nixon says
Tell Vince I wasn’t as strong as you are, and I didn’t thin. The tree survived a few years, and the tiny peaches were absolutely delicious … but the branches were weak and one year, when loaded with fruit, the tree split. So it’s about more than just thinning. The tree benefits from the thinning, too.
Judy Laquidara says
Yes, those trees just can’t support all that weight.