ORGANIC GARDENING
Fresh organic peaches (Photo – George Hodan)
The life of a peach is short and sweet…It starts when a workaholic bee, spreads peach pollen on each flower that it visits.
By George Patton
After a flower has been ‘touched’ by a bee, the process of peach creation begins. When there are peaches so close that they are competing for sunlight, the smaller ones should be removed. The ones remaining will get more water, sunlight, and nutrients, and become much larger and juicier fruit.
In the pursuit of the perfect peach tree, here’s what you need to know:
If you’re planting in the ground
- Plant in a sunny spot.
- Dig a hole deeper and wider than the roots in the pot.
- Transplant the tree into the hole.
- Add compost around it. When the hole is half filled with compost, water well.
- Add more dirt. When the hole is totally filled, water again.
- Leave the water running for ten more minutes, until all the air bubbles have stopped.
- A rock should be placed on one side to straighten its posture, as all trees need to stand straight.
- The tree will not need to be watered for three days.
After the second watering, a mulch of about an inch and a half should be placed around the tree, keeping it six inches away from the trunk so it does not to cause any moisture-loving fungal disease to harm the tree.
If planting in a pot
- Plant in a sunny spot.
- Transplant into a pot at least 20” in diameter at the rim.
- Add compost around it. When the pot is half filled with compost, water well.
- Add more dirt. When the pot is totally filled, water again.
- Leave the water running for five more minutes, until all the air bubbles have stopped.
- The tree will not need to be watered for three days.
After the second watering, a mulch of about an inch and a half should be placed around the tree, keeping it four inches away from the trunk so it does not to cause any moisture-loving fungal disease to harm the tree.
Water it twice a week if in a pot and three times a week if in the ground.
It will take two to three years before it will give you peaches.
Plant a long-lasting, bee-favorite flower like Thai basil, lavender, nasturtium, or Profusion ninnia for the pollination later on and for the shading and cooling of the root zone of the tree.
The good compost you have given the tree will be appreciated by the herbs and flowers as well.
Now, you should be inspired by the beauty you have created.
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