 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Luscious
peaches begin with planting
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
A truly ripe peach is
one that makes you jut your head forward with each bite to keep
yourself from being showered with juice. You rarely can buy such a
fruit, but you can grow it. Get it off to a good start with correct
planting.
Peach trees usually are sold bare-root; that is,
they are dug when dormant, and shipped without soil. Unwrap the
roots, then soak them in water for a few hours.
Your tree
needs pruning before planting. Trim back frayed or excessively long
roots.
|
|
|
|
If your tree is branched,
select three or four robust branches to become permanent limbs --
the lowest about half a metre from the ground and successive ones a
few centimetres apart and arranged in a spiral up the trunk.
Cut away all other branches and the trunk just above the top
branch. Shorten saved branches to a few centimetres in length. If
your tree is not branched, cut the trunk back to one metre and
select permanent branches as the tree grows.
 If a soil test indicates a need for
lime or phosphorus, mix these materials into the ground where you'll
dig the planting hole. Farther out, sprinkle these materials on top
of the soil to work their way downward by the time roots spread.
Dig a cone-shaped planting hole two times the spread of the
roots and just deep enough to get the roots in the ground. Rough up
the soil at the sides of the hole to help roots penetrate the
surrounding soil.
Put enough soil back in the hole to create
a mound on which to set the spread-out roots. While holding the
trunk, push soil back into the hole, working it in among the roots
with your fingers. Once the tree is self-supporting, shovel in
additional soil, tamping it gently with your fingers or a stick as
you work.
After you have filled the hole, create a catch
basin for water by building up a low dike of soil around the base of
your tree about one-half metre out from the trunk. Spread compost,
then straw, wood chips or leaves as mulch over the ground. Slowly
pour enough water into the catch basin to thoroughly drench the soil
and settle the tree in place.
Don't turn your back on your
tree and forget about it. Keep weeds at bay and water regularly the
first season, and you should taste your first peaches within a
couple of years.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
1 - Planting peaches
Gardening
archive
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | |
|
|
|
.gif){kind=small}
