Growingyourown
Peachesandnectarinesareamongtheeasiest
andmostrewardingbackyardfruittogrow.Most
deciduousfruits,suchasapples,pears,raspberries
andcherrieshavea highchillingrequirement,
whichmeanstheyneedanextendedperiodof
frostyweatherinordertoseta crop.Notsopeaches
andnectarines.Theyonlyneeda fewweeksof
reasonablycrispweathertobearfruit.EvenSydney,
Auckland,PerthandBrisbanehavesufficient
winterchillforpeaches,aswellasalltheother
southerncapitals.
ThetreesbloominJulyandAugust,andthe
blossomis extremelyornamental,sotheyearn
theirkeepinthebackyardforthatreason,too.
Unlikeapplesandpears,mostvarietiesofpeach
andnectarineareself-fertile,soyouonlyneed
onetreetoobtaina crop.
Allfruittreesarehighly-bredbeastsandalmost
allrequiresomekindofsprayingregimetoremain
healthy,evenif youplantogrowthemorganically.
Themainafflictionofpeachesis thefungaldisease
curlyleaf.Youwillneedtosprayyourtreeforthis
debilitatingcondition.Luckilyseveralrelatively
innocuousproductsareavailableforthispurpose.
Youwon’tbetheonlyonewho’llwanttoeat
yourlusciouspeaches;you’llneedtoprotectthem
againstparrots,possumsandfruitbats.Allthe
rubbersnakes,plasticowlsandsuspendedCDs
intheworldwon’tprotectyourcroplongterm.
A physicalbarrierplacedoverthetreewellin
advanceofharvestis theonlysolution.Different
stateshavedifferentlawsregardinganimalnetting,
somakesureyoucheckthesefirst.
Perhapstheworstpestis thedreadedfruitfly.
It’simpossibletoeliminatethemcompletely,but
settingpheromoneluresis themostpractical
managementtechniqueforhomegardeners.Pruningpeachtreesis relativelystraightforward.
Peachesbeartheirflowersandfruitonweak,twiggy
growthsproducedtheprevioussummer.Oncethey
havefruited,thesetwiggygrowthswon’tproduce
a secondcrop,soit’ssimplya caseofremovingthem
afterfruitingtoencouragemoretogrow.If youdo
thisinlatesummerratherthanwinter,it willhelp
tokeepyourtreecompact.Choosingwhattoplant
Peachesarebestplantedinwinter,whiledormant,
as bare-roottrees.Dwarfingrootstocksareavailable
now,resultingina treethat’sabout2mx 2min
size.Therearealsogeneticallydwarfvarieties,
whichareextremelycompactandhighly
ornamentalbutfrankly,notveryproductive.
Oneofthebestbackyardvarietiesforcooler
areasis theAustralianwhite-fleshedheirloom
‘Anzac’.Thefruitis notoverlysweetorlarge,
butitsmuskyperfumeis mouthwateringand
thetreeitselfis fairlyresistanttocurlyleaf.
‘Fragar’is anotherAustralianheirloomwhite
peach,whichcropslaterintheseasonthan
‘Anzac’,soit’sgoodforextendingyourharvest
season.‘Flavorcrest’is a largeyellowfreestone
fruit,firmenoughtostanduptopoachingand
baking,butif youwanttopreservepeaches,
chooseclingstonevarietiesbredspecificallyfor
thatpurpose,suchas‘GoldenQueen’.Good
backyardnectarinesincludethelusciouswhite-
fleshedNewZealandheirloomvariety,‘Goldmine’,
andtheyellow-fleshed‘Flavortop’,whichpolishes
upasbrightlyasanyredapple.
Forregionswithshortormildwinters,try
growing‘TropicBeauty’peaches,oryourown
PeachesofImmortality;thedoughnut-shaped
Chineseheirloom,‘ChinaFlat’.●Unlike applesandpears,
mostvarietiesofpeach
andnectarineareself-
fertile, soyouonly need
onetree toobtaina crop.am
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GOURMET TRAVELLER 27Grow your own
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