Success With Our Fruit Trees

( Meet our 1-yr.-old " Georgia Belle " Peach Tree ! This shot was taken around the end of May, 2009. )

Two things I’ve learned about planting any tree -

It’s better to not support them with stakes and other devices - if at all possible.  Mother nature instills the will to become stronger - each time they battle winds.

It’s been found that they grow much better when you don’t fertilize them while you are planting them.

Notice that I said  “ fertilize. “

However - amending the soil is an entirely different story.  And that task is vital to the successful survival of any plant or tree.

When Dwayne and I first moved here - we found a gold mine.  It had been quite a while since the previous owners had sold their horses.  And they’d never done a final clean-out of the stalls.

We have very sandy - rocky soil here.  Drainage is absolutely no problem - unless temperatures reach into the 90’s for a couple days.  We’ve had times when tomatoes have had to be watered twice in a day.

We had to use spades to remove over half of the mounds we found in the barn stalls.  Anything below 4 inches had broken down so much that it looked like Peat Moss.  For hay to break down that finely - it was obvious that the stalls had been left in that condition for a long - long time.  And Hubby has tilled it into spots where we’ve planted anything - wheelbarrow-filled loads.

For instance -

To plant our Georgia Belle Peach tree -

We tilled a circle that is 12 feet in diameter.  Four loads from the wheelbarrow were dropped onto the surface before the final tilling - prior to planting.  Hubby had turned the dirt twice before.  We had to go through and pick out all the grass and weeds - and rock.

We dug the actual hole for the tree - according to directions.  Most fruit trees are grafted.  Very important to avoid planting that graft joint below the soil surface.

Next thing I did was plant flowers around the circle.  A heavy layer of shredded hardwood mulch was applied after that.  Reason?  Fruit trees need a lot of consistent watering during their first year.  When you have flowers underneath to water - you’re less likely to forget to water!  But we made sure to keep the flower growth cut back away from the tree.

After that - a good - slow - soaking  - is better than weekly waterings.  This encourages the root system to travel further south into the soil.  It gives you more security for avoiding a falling/uprooted tree in a storm.
( 1 time per month for 80* temperatures - or - less )
(2 times per month for 81* temperatures - or - more )
( 15 minutes per every year of growth )

Three things to protect your trees from -

Shade - livestock - poultry !!

A goat will eat trees - flowers - and bushes - first!!

If you have deer, etc. - you want to stake a wall of chicken wire around the tree - far enough outward that a deer cannot stretch its neck and head enough to reach.  A rutting Buck will destroy your tree by using it to peel the velvet off his horns - and marking his territory.

Poultry will roost in and/or uproot young plantings.

( This shot was taken after we pruned this year - and after it began blooming. )

This is our second year after planting this peach tree.  One of my tasks for today - I will be top-dressing ( just laying it over the shredded hardwood mulch ) the entire circle with 2 inches of mushroom compost.  The sandy soil we have will allow the heaviness of the compost to work its way down when it rains - or - when I water.  The manure in the compost will administer itself at a slow enough pace that will help amend the soil and the growth of the tree.

If I were to work the mushroom compost into the soil - that would cause it to begin working too fast.  It would cause an instant fertilize effect - which is not a good thing.

Rabbit manure is the only livestock manure you can set into gardens or under trees immediately.

You want to save all of your waste from cleaning your stalls - let it cook in its own spot for about a month.  Keep it separate from any compost bins - because they take longer to break down and produce.  Use the top outer portions - first.  Turn it whenever you think about it - or - get a chance.

Top dressing is better than mixing into the soil - for numerous reasons.  Never want it set up against and touching the trunk - or - plant growth.

Most fruit trees take 3 years before producing fruit.  In the meantime - whatever blooms show up and fail to fall off the tree - should be removed by hand before allowing them to make fruit.

Usually - they will fall off on their own.  But occasionally - you’ll have a few that will hang on and produce.  Not a good thing for the tree.  It needs to mature enough for being able to produce its fruit and sustain a long life after that three year period.

As tempting as it is to let the fruit produce - you’ll be glad you removed the blooms until the tree is old enough.

Not only that - but - once the trees are old enough and begin producing fruit -

If you know how much you’re going to can - and you have no plans to sell - you’ll get larger peaches by pinching back any over-abundance of fuit in the early stage.