What did you do in your orchard today?

[R2elk]

sadly it says good drainage which we don't have. i like tart cherries.

I live on a sand dune. You can't get better drainage.

 

[R2elk]

Also planted two Lovell peaches.

 

[CrealCritter]

Also planted two Lovell peaches.

I've heard lovell makes a very good canning peach. They say ripe lovell peach halves hold their shape during processing. Plus you can sprout the pits to produce lovell rootstocks or grow more lovell peach trees.

Would'nt it be nice to crack open a jar of nice tree ripened peaches overwinter, add a little cottage cheese and enjoy. Unlike those tasteless rubbery things that mimic peach halves, you get from the store.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[CrealCritter]

Planted a Crimson Passion cherry.
View attachment 29837
View attachment 29836
"The Crimson Passion cherry is a bush cherry known for its compact size, dark red fruit, and sweet and slightly tart flavor.

It's a good choice for smaller gardens or container gardening, and the fruits are versatile, suitable for fresh eating, baking, and processing.
Key Features:

• Variety: Crimson Passion is a dwarf sour cherry variety.
• Fruit: Dark red, sweet and slightly tart cherries, suitable for fresh eating, baking, and processing.
• Size: Compact shrub, typically 5-8 feet tall, making it ideal for smaller areas.
• Self-fertile: Crimson Passion is self-fertile, meaning it can produce fruit without needing another cherry tree for pollination.
• Hardiness: Known for its good cold hardiness, tolerating down to -50°F.
• Origin: Developed at the University of Saskatchewan [3, 6] in Canada.
• Uses: The cherries are suitable for fresh eating, baking (pies, jams), and processing (juice).
• Bloom time: Early to mid-blooming, with beautiful white flowers.

Growing & Care:

• Sunlight: Prefers full to 3/4 sun.
• Soil: Balanced moisture, needs good drainage.
• Planting: Bury roots 2-3" deeper than usual to promote upright growth, and encourage a bush form.
• Pruning: Summer prune for airflow and ease of harvest, spur bearer.
• Pest & Disease: Prone to Spotted Wing Drosophila, which can cause larvae-filled fruits, and gummosis.
• Chill Hours: Requires 700 chill hours below 45°F."

Looks like a burnt ridge nursey tag. Don't ask me how I know this.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[CrealCritter]

My little scrub apple is starting to bloom

View attachment 29838

Looks like spring has sprung for you

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[CrealCritter]

I just checked all our peach trees. There's plenty enough fruit set to remove needed branches all the way to the trunk to promote open center. It's good to allow good air flow and sun light to reach into the canopy. Except for Marge which I planted last year. But it even has 3 peaches on it.

Established peach trees need to be pruned annually because peach flowers on 1 year old wood only. So one needs to keep the vigor up in the tree to produce new wood. Which in turn represents next year's fruit set.

There's a couple schools of thought here. Some prune during bloom, yet others prune after fruit set, I'm currently in the latter camp. Since I want to ensure good fruit set and prune heavy. Instead of snipping off small branches here and there. But to me it doesn't really matter as long as there is good fruit set and the tree is pruned to promote vigorous growth of new wood. Either thought, there's still plenty of growing season left for the tree to put on new wood before it goes into dormancy.

Jesus is Lord and Christ