Thanks for the reply s guys, I agree the problem with peaches in wichita is that it warms up to soon my current peach tree buds are swelling up right now, I like the warm weather but it really is a problem when you no your going to have another freeze. I have been doing a lot of research and have been maintaining an orchard for a number of years at the house, when I say community I should better phrase it as a company orchard, its a family run and owned company, there will be about 10 of us taking care and maintaining it, there will be a spray program, we have designed the irrigation system, and layout. I know several people have suggested Bing and I have talked them out of that, because everyone wants a sweet cherry I am doing what I can to come as close to it as I can. I have montamercy at home so I know they wont like the tartness for fresh eating. I sent an email to wagon wheel in gardner ks but no response as of yet, I like Adams but was trying to target local growers hoping I would get better suited trees for Wichita, or at least Kansas area. We have a tree nursery here in Wichita that really seem to know what they are doing but they are not particularly focused on fruit trees, they carry a broader range of trees with individual prices being rather inflated. I need to contact adams and see if I order from them if the trees will be bare root or not, I hear fall plating is better for bare roots. Thanks again for your help

Thanks for the replies. The orchard is roughly 85' by 60'. And it's fenced. Too small for the tractor to manuever easily (I'd get hives watching my husband trying to turn around without running over my Red Sheepnose apple) but it's bigger than I'd want to mow by hand. It would take too many woodchips to cover. The trees are mostly apple, peaches, plums, and pears. All are on semidwarf rootstocks. I've solved the deer problem so I'm not adverse to putting in clover. Or even garden crops for the first few years. I didn't think of that, but I like it. It's pretty much weed free right now so it's a blank slate that I don't want to mess up. I would love to grow alfalfa for my milk cows but I don't think it grows well here. Maybe cowpeas or some kind of legume? Or maybe some kind of mix like clover and oats? Then I could scythe it and feed it to the cows. (that sounds really cool but to be honest I'm not real sure what scything involves.) Gosh, I thought everybody would have the perfect answer. Like "The National Association Of Obsessive Home Orchardists has mandated a ground cover consisting of 40% legume, 20% potash, and 30% comfrey. Seeded at a rate not to exceed 30lbs of biomass per square foot." or something like that. :)

wine-maker, there isn't much prettier than seeing those clean mow lines in the grass on long runs and healthy green leafs on all those trees. What will you do with all that fruit?-besides making wine, of course. I still haven't figured out what I will do with mine (whenever I get it), besides cider and giving loads of it away to family and friends. Bob, currently I am in the process of mulching whole rows. that will make it way easier to lay down tubing without the worry of mowing over it or burying it. I am in Wisconsin, so I will have to pack it away every fall and roll it out every spring (at minus 30 plastic tubing is extremely brittle.) It won't be fully automated, instead I will put a post at the end of each row with a hose connection and a splitter before that so I can turn on four rows at the same time. With 2gph emitters that's about the max I can run anyways. Otherwise it takes me about 4 hours to water everything by hand. For some reason I seem to be an advocate of doing things the hard way, maybe to convince myself I'm not lazy. I am 33, but my back is telling me I better start finding easier ways.

Neighbor's peaches have them - DS and I picked for an hour Thursday, I took only the unblemished firm (but not rock-hard) fruit, left her 2 bags that had small punctures (not browning) in skin and told her she needed to clean up the drops the next day and get her DH out with a ladder to pick high ones, really have to keep on top of it. By Friday afternoon I found some of mine (kept in dehumidifed basement) were going soft, threw some out (in ziplock bag) and cut all the rest that had any soft spot at all up, peeled for dessert on Sat afternoon (family funeral). Only 1 had a larva in it that I could see. By this morning I'd found more that were rotting, cut them all up, found a few larvae - seem to go in the stem end and eat around the pit, causing brown mushy flesh and some black spots. Any that didn't peel well or were not firm went into the pot for peach butter but I found tiny white larvae in the pot after boiling so bagged and trashed the pulp, poured the liquid down the drain. The firm light yellow flesh I sliced and refrigerated with Fruit Fresh, after dinner I made a light syrup and briefly boiled the slices ( a pint at a time) and canned them, I found 1 tiny white larva in the slices (hope that's all there was). And now I have them flying around my kitchen that's full of ripening tomatoes and organic apples - I have more tomatoes picked Wed down the basement, they had been sitting in ventilated bins (single layer) next to the peaches, I hope they aren't attacking them since I am selling tomatoes at market. I did see a few regular fruit flies (black larger than SWD) on a pint of cherry tomatoes in my kitchen before I brought the peaches up. I don't have them (yet) on my TC blackberries but I've been picking them every morning, only 5 canes planted last year so not too hard to keep up with. But I imagine the fall raspberries (some still blossoming, doesn't look like first ones got pollinated) will be more subject to attack. DH cut down all the wild blackberries near the house that have come up in the past 2 years (after I picked and destroyed all fruit with any color), is planning on burning them, and is working his way out back but I don't know if we'll be able to eradicate them all - just too many out in the woods. And I used to get a good price for them too. I didn't know elderberries were a host - I'll have to have him cut those down too. I am putting all cooked fruit pulp, cores, and rotten/split tomatoes in ziploc bags before trashing them - not composting any sweet fruit or tomatoes at all. Does anybody know if cukes or squash in compost is a problem? I know the rinds are too hard for SWD to lay in, but once they start rotting are they attractive, or do they only go for sweet fruit?