PostPosted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 6:58 pm Post subject: Reply with quote Handling Peach Leaf Curl naturally. I add 1/4 to 1/2 ounces of Tea Tree oil to winter dormant oil spray, already mixed. I apply just before or just at the beginning of pink bud and normally it knocks the leaf curl 100%; I only get a few red bubbles here and there. On bad years, with more humidity, leaf curl might affect nectarines anyway, but not as bad, as they are more prone to leaf curl. I used to use 1/4 ounce per gallon of winter spray, for dryer springs, but wetter springs need 1/2 ounce per gallon of winter oil spray to be totally effective. It is a bit expensive, the Tea Tree Oil that is, but probably no more then the chemical alternative and it is safe, that give me a peace of mind. David _________________ PostPosted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:15 am Post subject: Reply with quote Edit/Delete this post David, Where do you get tea tree oil? This year, it was really dry. I did not spray anything on my peaches and nectarines. Out of several hundred thousand leaves, I've only got less than ten that showed some infection. All of my peach trees suffered one breakage or another due to oversized fruits. I have been thinning aggressively, but went on 2 months vacation and when I came back, each tree has a breakage. I would call it truly fantastic fruit sets on all stone fruits this year. Joe PostPosted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:58 am Post subject: Reply with quote Joe You can find it at Health food stores or stores with Healthy food departments; now you can find it even in some pharmacies and etc in their cosmetic department. I have preferred to use Tea Tea Oil by Jason's, a health food cosmetic company. Though am sure there are other brands which might do as good. I can sense such things and how well they will work in my own body and the bodies of other individuals. We do fine a much more expensive line of essential oils from Young Living, but that is good expensive and good for plant needs. Essential oils are processed in different ways, often the cheaper the oils are, the more chemically and unnaturally they are processed, where as the more expensive they, the more natural and viable they are. Jason's I guess is of good quality, but not too expensive. I used to buy it a Raley's, but now buy it at at Vitamin Shoppe online, or now they have a Vitamin Shoppe in Modesto CA, so their are a few stores in CA, in larger cities; their vitamins run 25 % or less in price then local health-food stores. I have tried other Tea Tree oils from Health Food stores, but have settled on Jason's, I guess it is good quality, compared to many, and not too expensive and easy to obtain. Sorry, when you ask me a question, I feel the need to tell you why and what for, I guess it is my nature to share and teach. Interesting you considered it dry this spring and summer, on a year like this year, my trees would of been devastated by Peach Leaf Curl. Last year was really bad, Peaches were ok, using the spray, but nectarines had a partial bad attach, but quickly recovered. Peaches only had a few pea size bubbles here and there. Yes, a very good year for stone fruits, my trees had more fruit then I have ever seen, pollinating time was ideal, nice sunny weather and no rain most of the time. Like you I kept thinning and thinning and still had too much fruit for the limbs to handle well. What got me was the last blooms. I thinned the peaches when the fruits were a bit smaller then golf balls and noticed a lot more the size of peas. Usually the smaller ones all drop off, when the large fruit is present, but apparently it didn't happen. I had to thin thin clear into June and early July on some varieties. I thought I had my plum/pluot tree well thinned too and I was wrong here too. Massive amount of small fruits that didn't get sized up as it usually does, but the fruits were not much smaller then store size. I usually just thin a bit more and produce larger and less fruits. I did notice that my plums and pluots were not quite as tasty as they usually are. My early Granada Pomegranates are late this season, compared to the past, but that could be maybe because of the amount of fruit, not sure. I planted a Wonderful and its sibling Granada in one hole and as one plant, only a few years ago, so this is the first real decent size crop, with the tree being around 10 plus feet tall; I prune off the fast sucker growth from the top, so it stays more balanced and rounded, but let it grow taller. I am sure in following seasons the fruit may be larger and even more plentiful as the root systems gets larger. I have not gotten a lot of fruit the last couple years, as it was young, but I have been eating the Granada's starting before now, more like the first of Sept. They are ripening, I tried one the other day, edible, but still lacking in prime sweetness and flavor; cool nights and especially frosty nights help to force flavor and sweetness. When I was a kid growing up here in the Valley, we got cooler weather before now many times and always had killing frost to beans and squash and etc before Halloween. We pretty much years ago, could expect a pumpkin killing freeze a month to a couple weeks before Halloween, that was back in the 50s, 60s and early 70s. David _________________ Living in Waterford CA, east side of Central Valley CA, USDA zone9b, on edge of Sunset Garden Book zone 14. Surviving, but wishing I was in a warmer zone. Love to experiment and push the limit on plants. PostPosted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 1:00 pm Post subject: Reply with quote Edit/Delete this post David, Thanks for the info on Tea Tree Oil. i ordered mine from eBay. Will try it out this season. Will try to apply copper during the leaf fall, maybe lime sulfur during the dead winter, and Tea Tree oil during pink stage. i just came back from my Canada trip and they have problem with the rains. The trick for them to have their plums and peaches set fruit is to drape over a breathable row cover during bloom to channel away the incessant rains. I will try to do that this year in case we have a very wet year. I still have my Last Chance Peach loaded, and they should ripen very well towards the end of the month. Joe PostPosted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:40 pm Post subject: Reply with quote Joe I guess the row cloth might help, if you had bees under the row cloth to pollinate the blooms. If you go down near the ground with it, the bees will most likely not find their way in. The row cloth could help warm up the blooms, so the blooms could be pollinated, if the bees were around. Blooms will not pollinate below certain temps, but you may already know that. When it is cool and rainy, the trees will hold blooms longer. I know I want to add polycarbonate extensions to my house, where I have like guavas. They need more winter protection and when they have really ripe fruits in fall, the rains make them split, even if the ground does not really get wet. I guess like Cherries, the rain on the fruit causes them to swell and split. David _________________

Luckily I've never found a human bone. But a friend of Curts did, he didn't know it and had it on his mantle, another friend pointed out it was a human leg bone & they called the police. Turns out it belonged to YET ANOTHER friend that had been missing and was murdered!! What are the odds? He was so freaked out he didn't go beachcombing for about a year after that and says he still won't look at driftwood piles, that's where he found the bone. I hang all the shoes I find on the "wall of lost soles", the wooden fence at our house. The wall even made it on TV! I found a message in a bottle, for those of you concerned with OCEAN CURRENTS you can look up the article at the Galveston County Daily news and see exactly WHICH currents it drifted in on, the path it took and the length of time, and a great picture of ME! I made the front page. It was shocking to pull up to the papermachine and see myself staring back out. It was dropped off a teaching ship by a guy who has been dropping messages in a bottle off boats & ships since he was a kid. The garden lost about 80% of it's plants in Ike. Things I took down to save from blowing away drowned. We had waist deep water for 2 days, we think, there was no water in the house but roof damage from the wind. Of course, the roofers did much worse damage when they set the house on fire. The neighbors house is 11" shorter than ours & she had 10" of water. She might actually get to move home in 2 weeks. My brother had his house elevated, the wiring and plumbing, siding, floors have been done, they are working on the inside and front steps now, hopefully they will be home just after the new year. I know they, like a lot of others, are tired of living in a travel trailer. We sent mom to my sisters while her house was being done. She had to have her staples removed from surgery while we were evacuated and then we couldn't find her doctor. My bro-in-law is an MD & my sister doesn't work outside the home so it worked out well. She had 2-4' of water in her house. My Aunt is moving home next week, she had water to the roofline. My cousin has her downstairs gutted but still waiting to start work. A lot of our neighbors moved, my cousin is the only one for 2 blocks in her neighborhood and only about 1/4 of my brother neighbors are back. There are houses for sale everywhere. We thought the Pride of Barbados to be dead, it sort of came back last year but didn't look good through winter, I was really surprised when it started to bloom a few weeks ago. It's only a few feet high, it was over 12' before the storm. The city ripped the yellow one out of the ground while we were all exiled. They grow really easy from seeds if you find someone with seeds. Tally HO!

Just whack it back to the size that will fit in the house. They recover quickly. And if you do get the sap in your eye, jump in the shower for 15 minutes, BY THE CLOCK, aim the shower head to hit you between the eyes, blink if you can, do NOT use any eye drops of any kind. One hour after irrigation, if you have swelling, pain, tearing, blurry vision or any other symptom except redness go to the ER right then. Corneal burns are pretty common with this sap. Stay warm! We're supposed to have the coldest temps in a decade by the weekend, 15 degrees colder tomorrow morning. I hate winter. Tally HO!

I couldn't talk this morning b/c site was down so here goes--long post! NH Suzanne~Always love Rock's pic! He's so gorgeous. Raeanne~Love ya Sistah! Trekaren~ Your chicken breast recipe sounds good. I had my eyes dilated on Tuesday but they said everything looked good. I don't think they'll do it again. My eyes are very sensitive to the stuff they use & stay dilated way longer than they are supposed to. Dee~Glad you finally had a chance to write a little & hope you get caught up soon. Wodka~Your yard must be beautiful again this year. You always work so hard on it. Milkdud~I did 3 layouts yesterday. How's the wedding album coming? Silversword~I'd just about trade ya. It's been 92 degrees here. Joyce~The clothes getting loser are the main thing--the weight loss will follow. Besh~So sorry DH has mono. Ugh! Congrats on your 10# weight loss. John~So glad to finally hear from you. I've missed you terribly. Congrats on your #18 loss, the #125 gain (lol), & the new car. Please hurry back. Elelektos~"Date Night"~What fun! We all love our children but we need adult interaction as well. Our weight fluctuates--that is why it is best to weigh the same day of the week at the same time. It is a better indicator. Try not to get on the scale so often. It discourages us too much if we let it. :-) QOD~I'm going to the Gulf Coast to scrapbook with a couple of friends tomorrow & Sunday Dave is picking up our friend who has been in the rehab center & bringing him back home. I think that is about it for us. Have a great weekend. Patti :-)