Princess Pea: Peach leaf curl is caused by a fungus (Taphrina deformans). The fungus overwinters on buds, bark ect. When the bud scales swell and crack in spring, the fungus attacks the meristem. The leaves will open up twisted/puckered and have pink or yellow lumps on them. Once you see this, you will never forget this disease. To prevent, you must spray with a fungicide BEFORE the leaf buds crack open. It is too late to spray afterwards and get control. I spray with chlorothalonil in late March and again a second spray the first week in April for SE WI. Your area is different than mine so all I can say is that you need to spray while the tree is dormant and be sure to cover the entire tree (trunk, branches ect). I cannot comment on "resistant" peach varieties as I have no experience with them.

I just got my first fruit tree, combo asian pear, and I am going to put a ceramic owl on my shed, near my pear tree, to keep the doves and other birds away. I have bird attracting trees, and a dozen nests in my yard, so I want to make sure they are eating bugs, and not my fruit. On my yard, we had a peach tree a long time ago, that no one took care of. It was basically invaded by ear wigs, and so we only got to eat a few each year! Ever since my yard has always had ear wigs up till last season. I took out a foot of bark 2-3 inches deep from my willow, cause earwigs were burrowed up in it like crazy.. I just used sevin spray on it from Lowes that hooks up to the hose. I rinsed the tree after to make sure they all fell out, and to keep the spray off my tree. It was a good method. I got them good, but I had to really get up in there to get the nursery of earwigs. Obviously they say you "can" use this Sevin Stuff on vegetables and fruit trees, but I don't think I want to go that route. I did use it on my vegetable garden 2 times last summer when I was spraying my trees, but I did it only on vegetables that you didn't eat the outer layer, like pumpkins and watermelon. Not that any of them needed it. --------------------------------- I am also researching more organic ways to spray a fruit tree. I have used other methods for other types of edible plants, like planting certain types of herbs or plants around things to keep bugs out. Like my pepper plants really kept bugs out of my bed, I swear I didn't have 1 invader in my garden outside my lettuce crops. And I think my catnip and bay leaf plants in my willow tree bed helped out a lot after the sevin sprayings. I also have very little of new bugs, because my "bird" attracting trees, are filled with bug eating birds. Birds are your best friends. It is about containment of the bug populations and getting less of them each season. No way to keep "all" bugs out of yard over night, or for good. I also wanted to note, that I have found simple methods in other parts of yard/house. Like putting ammonium sulfate all over my grass instead of fertilizer, cause I have kitties, and a dozen kids who live in circle in front of my house. I have also used salt to help kill stumps, cause kids love to play on the one in my front yard, so no stump killer. I have also used viniger based cleaning solution for all sorts of things. It keeps away bacteria and organisms, big or small. If you didn't know, you can clean your fruit off with viniger rather than water to get bacteria off. I bet there is a vegetable oil and viniger mix that would work for a spray, that keeps fruit natural and bug resistant. I am looking to find something like that, some house hold item that can used that isn't poison or dangerous to cats, kids or the fruit itself. If I find something I will let you, cause I am also a first timer fruit tree planter/owner. I would suggest, a "scarecrow" by the tree, and maybe some plants or herbs around the tree. Bay leafs have multiple uses. Birds and bees are what I attract to my yard, which can be flowers, trees, etc. A little flower can help out a lot more than you would think.

coug51eh, i am in zone 5a and i know that i can grow Red Haven peaches. i have 2 others that i have yet to figure out their variety, but they have done well here. ravi, i just pruchased my first BT concentrate, but i have read about it for some time before buying. it is a biological pesticide that is really helpful with control of caterpillars, loopers, cabbageworms, leaf rollers, and gypsy moths. probably many more critters too that they don't list. it can be used up to the day of harvest and won't hurt beneficials. seems to be pretty good stuff so now to find out for myself. you can find out more by googling on the name "Bacillus Thuringiensis". happy growing, cc

I have 3 peach trees. Contender which came grafted from a nursery, and two Indian Freestone peach trees. All 3 of my trees, I think are in their 4th year, this year. I had one peach last year -- just one on Contender. Here is a photo of one of the Indian Freestone trees from April 20. I grew the Indian Freestone trees from pits. By reputation they reproduce reliably, by seed. There is supposed to be enough genetic diversity that 2 such trees planted from seed near each other will cross-pollinate . . . Indian Free is one of the few peaches that requires a pollinator. The next one is Contender. The tree is more substantial as it was already grafted tree from a nursery planted in same year, but its flowers are not nearly as pretty. The fruit is good, though. I didn't see any honeybees this year. I see some fruit on the trees today less than the size of a pea, but some of the Indian Freestone buds are just dropping. I expect to get some fruit, just not nearly as many are setting as there were flowers. Less culling, but I'd rather cull fruit that are too plentiful than have sparse fruit.