We had around 30 people join us for the pruning workshop. The group discussed pruning tools and sanitation of the tools. Proper pruning cuts and the timing of those cuts were also discussed. Then the groups pruned grapes, new and old apple and peach trees. A big thank you to those that braved the cold and to Randy, Jeremy, Sheila and Susanne for teaching. … [Read more...] about Fruit Tree and Grape Pruning Workshop
This morning when I was looking at the grapes, I spied a furry tail hanging out of a peach tree. … [Read more...] about Busted
The field crew harvested this year' s first peaches on Tuesday June 26th. It was a light harvest and over the next few weeks the yield's will increase. … [Read more...] about Peach Harvest Begins
Our crew is putting fruit bags on one peach tree that will be un-sprayed from this point on. We purchased some Clemson Fruit Bags https://www.clemson.edu/extension/peach/commercial/diseases/clemsonfruitbags.html to protect the fruit from insects and disease after early season sprays were applied. This method of pest management is a good idea for home fruit growers who only have … [Read more...] about Putting fruit bags on peaches
Even with the late frost and cold temperatures the peach trees still needed to be thinned this year. We decided not to mechanically thin them since about 30% of the buds had damage. We waited until they set fruit and are manually thinning them to one peach every 6-8 inches. Thinning immature fruit will allow the remaining fruit to develop into higher quality fruit. Less … [Read more...] about Peach Thinning