Peach Harvest

When we bought our house, the yard was over-landscaped with ornamental trees and bushes.  That was fine for the previous family, but this one likes to mow in straight lines and thinks that landscaping ought to offer a little more than just a pretty flower come spring.  So, we dug up over 20 plants and found them loving homes amongst grateful neighbors.  The irony is that once the yard was cleared to our liking, we then bought ourselves three self-pollinating fruit trees, but placed them at the back of the lot where they'll offer both buffer and food.  We let the boys each pick a variety, and Cal chose a Belle of Georgia Peach.  We figured that the climate is right, and since our Georgian neighbors seem to grow them abundantly, why not us here in north Alabama?  Since planting, we have lovingly nurtured that tree, and while it did give us 9 ripe peaches, they were 9 of the ugliest fruits I have ever seen.

The story begins with a wee tree and some black leaf spots.   A little research and a trip to the Extension Office turned up a disease called Bacterial Leaf Spot.  It is spread by wind and rain, and once it infects your leaves and fruit, the only treatment is to suffer through the season, prune, and then treat the tree as soon as leaves sprout the following spring.  I read that Neem Oil can help keep the disease from continuing to spread, so we applied it for a few weeks on a 7 day cycle.  The problem only worsened.

Next, I began to notice that as soon as new fruits appeared, they would quickly mummify on the branch.  They'd start off as fuzzy, perfect peaches, then shrivel up and die before maturing.  Another chat with my new friend at the Extension Office revealed the development of Brown Rot.  His advice was to ditch the Neem Oil, pick off and throw away the mummified fruits, and spray with copper as a fungicide.  It seemed to stop the mummification cycle, but we still had a seriously sickly-looking tree.

We sort of limped along through the summer, but as our fruits began to approach maturity, I spotted a new problem emerging:  Peach Scab.  It now appears that we have been attacked by every known peach tree ailment with the exception of powdery mildew.  The fact that we escaped that one may have been the tree's only saving grace.

As it turns out, peaches are a very difficult fruit to grow.  Obviously.  I've talked to many a grower at the farmers markets only to get a chuckle, some reassurance that it is the tree and not me, and little advice.  Start early with the treatments.  They WILL be required.  Be aggressive.  As the tree buds, begin cycles of sulfur and be consistent from bud to petal fall.  Supposedly, under ideal conditions, this will keep the diseases at bay.  But, good luck, they say!

Now, mind you, we have chosen to grow fruit and food in our backyard mostly because it is fun and we love doing it.  But, it is also our small attempt at some self-sustainment, and we want to do it as organically as possible.  So, is sulfur organic?  The answer, it turns out, is yes.  Thank heavens.  Sulfur is a mineral and is the oldest known pesticide in use.  It is non-toxic to mammals and while it can cause eye irritation, it is otherwise not harmful to one's health when used to treat obnoxious, needy peach trees.

Fortunately, Cal isn't yet aware that his tree almost got the axe.  In fact, he checks it religiously, and just this weekend, we decided it was harvest time.  He grabbed his bucket and picked all 9 ugly peaches off the tree.  They may not be pretty, but they were hard won, and we plan to eat every last one.  With out the peeling.  And the bad spots cut out.

Here's to sulfur and next year's disease-free peaches.  Grow, Cal, grow.

Strawberries

In an effort to include our two small boys in this year's garden, we let them choose some favorite seeds and plants last spring.  They chose well, and it should come as no surprise that we ended up with both strawberries and blueberries.  Both have surprisingly produced a small harvest this summer, which is not typical for the first year.  Because we've enjoyed them so much, we've decided to expand our berry growing efforts.  In fact, one of this weekend's projects is to properly define and mulch the berry bed, and move the blueberries from their spot in the garden to along side their blackberry and raspberry friends.  More on that to come.

We knew immediately back in May that we had underestimated our strawberry consumption, so we created a strawberry patch in our herb bed.  There was plenty of room, and I love having a plot that is functional, tasty, and still easy on the eyes.  Who needs begonias, anyway?  Not all of the baby strawberry plants survived the transplant, but I'm happy with what we have so far and will look forward to adding more next year.  They make a remarkably lush and pretty flowerbed.  We chose a Day Neutral variety which means that the fruit will not grow as big, but it is more abundant and can be found throughout the spring, summer, and fall growing season.  These plants do produce some runners and will grow in subsequent years to help us fill our bed.  Other options include June Bearing (one large, singular harvest) or Everbearing (another continual harvest variety that does not produce runners).  The boys think they've found a treasure whenever they find a little red spot among all that green.  While we've yet to have a homegrown strawberry make it inside the house, I love watching my little gardeners enjoy the fruits of their labors.

My father-in-law passed along a tip that I've since happened upon in some reading as well.  It has put the kibosh on strawberry snacking for this summer, but only because it will improve next year's harvest.  For the first year of your plant's development, remove the flower blossoms off all plants as soon as they appear.  This will allow the plant to concentrate its efforts on developing a stronger root system and a more substantial crown (what you call the base of the plant).  In turn, this creates a heartier plant that will produce more strawberries the next growing season.

So, go ahead.  Pinch their little heads off.  Depending on the day, you might find it slightly therapeutic.