Did you know that peaches and nectarines are of the same variety? Nectarines just lack the gene for "fuzz." A neat fact! Thinning peaches, plums, and apples kept me busy this week. The photograph above is from a peach tree in the Up Garden. Orin Martin (the Up Garden Manager) says to thin between fruits: 5-6" for peaches/nectarines, 3-4" for plums, 5-6" for apples, and 3" for apricots. Thinning the fruits will reduce damage to the fruit skin, reduce weight on the branches, eliminate habitat between fruit for pests, and help the tree to produce yummy fruit.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Fruit Trees
Did you know that peaches and nectarines are of the same variety? Nectarines just lack the gene for "fuzz." A neat fact! Thinning peaches, plums, and apples kept me busy this week. The photograph above is from a peach tree in the Up Garden. Orin Martin (the Up Garden Manager) says to thin between fruits: 5-6" for peaches/nectarines, 3-4" for plums, 5-6" for apples, and 3" for apricots. Thinning the fruits will reduce damage to the fruit skin, reduce weight on the branches, eliminate habitat between fruit for pests, and help the tree to produce yummy fruit.
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Hey, Leah! It looks like you are learning up a storm and enjoying life on a futon. I don't know if you are familiar with my lifelong dream of being an orchardist (not to be confused with my lifelong desire to be a world-class hurdler, squelched by Ed Rossier). At any rate, this post gets me one step closer to knowing how to do that. One question: when do you thin? When the fruit first appears on the vine--as tiny bud-like things--or as they get big enough to eat? What happens if you don't thin it?
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