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I'm sure you can understand how this part of your post made it sound like you were saying it is in Anderson:
"That one is down here my home city of Anderson in SC."
Yeah. Obviously meant to say NEAR my home city of Anderson.
Thats what I get for trying to multitask here at work.
Thanks for catching the inadvertent omission!
Have you looked at the NC State web site (https://peaches.ces.ncsu.edu/) or contacted one of the local extension agents? Most of the peach trees I have seen are in South Carolina (eg Gaffney) vs being in NC, so I don't know if we have the right climate for them to produce much.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeJaquish
But, we get great peaches from The Sandhills. Of course, the grower groups may grow on either side of the NC/SC border.
I am certain we can have peaches here, but the recommendation to speak with an extension agent is good advice.
Pick the right cultivar, for starters.
My grandfather was a county agent in NEPA, and tended a peach orchard. He had magic for apples, but the peaches were a bit of a struggle.
Yes, I'll definitely ask the experts but wanted to ask the forum too, for their personal experience.
We inherited the tree and I'm not looking to add just yet. The original owners don't know what kind they planted, maybe ID should be my first task.
Quote:
Originally Posted by poppydog
What Mike said. The Sandhills (around Southern Pines, Pinehurst, etc) is prime peach growing area for NC so we are slightly north of the best area here in the Triangle, but it is doable I'm sure. You should be able to get regular-sized peaches. It may be hard to do organic, though. We have a lot of pests, both insects and fungal, etc. I have gotten the occasional organic local peach, but they aren't as perfect as the California organics or the local conventional.
https://www.carolinafarmstewards.org/ Carolina Farm Stewardship Association is also a great organization and they put on an amazing farm tour for the western triangle (Chatham, Orange, etc) in April.
Thanks, I'll check them out too.
I didn't see obvious signs of stress last year, but I'll see what I can do to keep it healthy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NRaleigh Mom
We HAD a peach tree and it yielded fruit. However we were never fast enough to pick them. The deer and squirrels always got there before we could. The deer also used to eat the leaves/branches.
I witnessed one deer eating the fruit that fell on more than one occasion, but I'm sure it was an all out feast since I didn't wind up picking any myself. They felt really firm right up until they started rotting so I just never had any.
If, despite my best efforts, it stays the same I'll just chalk it up to wildlife support.
Between exit 90 and 92. Installed in 1981, years after that stretch of I-85 opened.
I went by recently and it looked like they have repainted it or done something, as it looks as good as when it was first put up. Gaffney used to be notorious as a speed trap, but with the never ending construction now in the area, it is hard to even get to 55 mph. I do remember the seemingly endless rows of peach trees in that area. Today, it seems there are hardly any.
Upper SC along I-85 used to produce half the state's crop, but now the majority comes from the I-20 corridor between Columbia and Augusta. There are still orchards near I-85 but it's nothing like it once was.
Some internet sources are still saying that upper SC is the dominant producer, but as far as I can tell all such sources trace back to a 1988 report. A lot has changed since then.
I had a peach tree in upstate NY. So it's probably a matter of picking the right variety. I was young so I don't really know many details but it was a tree from Cornell AG center so probably was the best suited for my area.
You can definitely grow peaches in the triangle, but it definitely takes some work, knowledge, and good timing. The problem with peaches is that they're delicious and everything wants to eat them. Insects, squirrels, deer, fungi, etc. If you can content with these adversaries then you can get a good crop of peaches.
Organic options are generally less effective and require extremely good spray timing. You can find low toxicity synthetic insecticides with a short half-life and residual. Check the NCSU fact sheets for recommendations or the simplified spray guide from KYU.
Pruning and Thinning
You will need to prune to eliminate dead wood, shape the tree, and increase light and air penetration into the center of the tree. Plan on attending this upcoming pruning demonstration at the Central Crops research station. I attend a few years ago and it's incredibly helpful.
If you want sizeable fruit, you will also need to thin them out. Peaches set too much fruit - you'll want to reduce the number so the plant can allocate more resources to individual fruits. Sure you'll get fewer fruits, but they will be larger. This isn't really an option step, IMO.
Plan to thin once the fruits are around the of a quarter. Thin them so there are no more than 1 peach per 4-6 inches of stem length. It's distressing to remove so many fruits the first time you thin them. Don't worry.
Insect Pests
Oriental fruit moth and plum curculio are the biggest worst insect pest that I deal with. They are tough critters and a couple very well timed insecticide sprays are required if you want to avoid extensive damage. Controlling the first wave of curculio is particularly important.
Peachtree borer can also be a problem. The larvae tunnel into the main stem and eat the growing tissue. Sap oozing from the trunk is a sign you have borers.
Disease
Fruit tree disease generally attack either the leaves (peach leaf curl) or fruit (brown rot and scab). Controlling leaf diseases prevents damage to the entire tree. Controlling fruit diseases gives you edible or visually appealing fruit. It's important to understand that fruit disease infection often occurs very early in the life of the fruit, often during flowering. So don't think you can wait to spray until the peaches are just beginning to blush red. By then it will be too late. Again, see the simplified spray sheet.
Four Legged Pests
Squirrels are the worst pest for me. They took 95% of my crop last year because I neglected to bag the fruit and was out of town for a week. Plan on bagging the fruit with either ziploc bags or the mesh bags you posted. I've had good luck using ziploc bags with a small notch cut into the sealing strip to permit pass through of the peach stem. Live trapping also works, though you'll technically need to get a depredation permit in Wake county. They are free but be prepared to show evidence of damage, e.g. half-eaten peaches.
I can't offer first hand advice for deer. You could try spraying a solution of blood meal around your plants. On a regular basis.
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