Three-in-one Peach
Strawberry Free White Peach
Babcock White Peach
Scarlet Robe
2001: First year this had peach leaf curl very badly. Not surprisingly, it produced no fruit.
2002: Had a lot of blossoms in Spring. Scarlet Robe peach graft (north graft) produced first, beginning in the third week of June. Got about 15 peaches from that graft, the last on June 30. South graft is a white peach (Babcock?), not ripe as of June 30. East and West grafts still not ripe. We have been using metallic streamers to keep the birds away. Early on it appeared that the fruit would be extremely small, but it always seems to grow rapidly as it ripens. Lots of Babcock/Strawberry Free Whites beginning around July 4. Excellent flavor. Still coming at July 20. Noticed a couple of worms. The east graft is a yellow peach (Gold Dust peach), with only four fruits this year. We tasted one on 7/28/02, and though the flavor was good we suspect that we should have given it 3-4 days to ripen. The others will be around the end of this week.
2003: I cut one branch that grew from the rootstock, and to the other branch we grafted a sprig from the yellow peach graft on the north side of the tree. By early March we have blossoms from all grafts except for the yellow variety on the north side. That variety was the first to ripen last year, so I wonder what is happening. By late March we had blossoms from all grafts. The new graft may have failed. 6/1/03 Yes, the new graft failed. Ladybugs have been protecting this tree from aphids. New growth is good, white peach harvest should be much stronger than the yellow peach harvest. Peaches are now as large as or larger than walnuts that still have the husk on. Harvest is still far away, perhaps July 4? There has been some small occurrence of leaf curl, but so far we've contained this by simply plucking off the leaves that have the curl. I have thinned the fruit, but probably not enough. Some small branches are barely holding the 4-7 peaches that they have now, and they may well break when the peaches get larger. 6/22/03: The yellow peaches smell good, and have gotten much larger over the past week. We could harvest some as early as one week from today, though it will probably be two weeks before they ripen. The small yellow peach (East) graft has very small peaches that are slow to develop and they will likely not ripen until everything else is finished. 6/28/03: Picked 6 yellow peaches. Tasted a small one, found it good. 7/2/03 Picked more yellow peaches and a few Babcock whites. Ants have been a minor problem, and we've had some damage from cucumber beetles. 7/10/03: Looks like we'll get 35-40 peaches from the early yellow variety, and over 100 white peaches. We're very pleased so far. Last white peaches picked around 7/25. Late yellow variety first picked around 7/25, but only 6 total peaches of the late variety.
2004: 3/10/04: One of the grafts is taking, so we will hopefully have more yellow peaches next year. Meanwhile, the white peach varieties have been in bloom for a week, and the yellow varieties are just beginning to leaf and bloom. 4/11/04: We've been pinching peaches for days now. It's remarkable how many peaches these trees produce even when they look like they don't have many. 5/5/04: Peaches are about as large as walnuts without the husk. 6/5/04: Some Scarlet Robe peaches are nearly full size, while others are walnut sized. The big ones smell very attractive, and could ripen at any time. The Babcock graft is producing heavily, and one branch is so heavy that I'll have to support it with a stake. 6/13/04: Picked a very small, walnut- sized peach that was soft to the touch. It was ripe, and others should be ripening later this week. 6/20/04: We have picked some 15 or so yellow peaches so far, but half of them have been no larger than large apricots. Taste has been good, though not as good as last year. The birds began nibbling at the Babcock peaches a few days ago. They've tried 3 of them so far. I am fearful that some branches will break due to the heavy crop. 7/11/04: We picked the last of the peaches today, except for two remaining ones from the late-ripening branch. That means 50 peaches today, plus some 200 or so that we picked earlier. We had lots of windfall fruit, probably in large part because we waited too long to pick some of them. This year we let the birds eat whatever they wanted, and there was still no lack of fruit for us.
2005: 2/27/05: The white peach blossoms have been on for over a week now, so we're perhaps 2 weeks ahead of last year. The (new) yellow graft is well established, but it isn't as strong as I had hoped. Perhaps it will never be as prolific as the white peach varieties. 3/24/05: Small peaches appeared about a week ago, so it looks like the rain didn't destroy the peach crop. 4/21/05: The yellow peach graft on the north side of the tree should have a bumper crop this year. The white peaches will be less plentiful, but will still have a good crop. Peach leaf curl is a problem this year, as I have been plucking some 5-10 leaves per day since we returned from France. It doesn't bother the north yellow graft like it does the white varieties, though I'm not sure why. The leaf curl is a problem likely because of our extra wet winter, and because I didn't do a good job of spraying. We've thinned the peaches quite a bit, and the largest peaches are about the size of a shelled walnut, so we're about 2 weeks earlier than last year, meaning that they will begin ripening in early June and they may be gone by the time Mom & Dad get here. 5/23/05: We continue to thin the peaches little by little, and once in awhile I find leaf curl on a couple of leaves. We had to support a few of the branches with stakes, and even that may not be enough. 6/10/05: We picked a couple of peaches which, while not ripe, still tasted good in spite of tartness. Should get ripe ones by a week from now. The white peaches are coming along well, and look like they could ripen any time, though I expect that we're 2 weeks away from harvest. 6/19/05: To date we've gotten some 20 peaches from the early yellow variety. Some of these have been windfall, some have fallen because of worms, but as of today some are coming off at a touch. The fragrance is as good as always. The Babcock peaches are still green, though we have eaten one that was good in spite of being unripe. 6/26/05: Prior to today we had picked about 35 peaches, then today we had a major harvest of 35 more (about 10 of which were only apricot-sized), and now there are nearly 50 peaches of the yellow variety left on the tree (including 3 on the new graft). We had some 4 or 5 that began to rot on the tree, so these weren't counted. The white peaches are falling, due to wind or worm. But we also picked a handful (4) of genuinely ripe ones today. We're at the point where we can't eat all the peaches that we harvest, so we canned 7 pints of yellow peaches today, at about 4 peaches per pint. 7/10/05: Our first major harvest of white peaches was on 7/3/05. To date we have frequently encountered rejects due to wind and worm. Yesterday we harvested dozens of peaches for canning, but there are still a dozen or so fruits left on the tree. 7/21/05: We picked the last of the white peaches about a week ago, and one of the two late-ripening peaches yesterday, which was still a bit early.
2006: 2/26/06: The white peach varieties are budding lightly, and the first blossoms should open within a week. The yellow varieties are worrisome, however, as the late-ripening variety appears to have only a single blossom, and the other appears to be nearly dead. 2/28/06: The first couple of blossoms appeared on the white peach varieties. 4/13/06: Even though I sprayed with copper sulfate 4 times this winter I still found some leaf curl two days ago. 4/29/06: I've been plucking leaves with leaf curl just about daily for the last week or two. Hopefully the turn toward warmer weather will lead to an end of the leaf curl. I've also been thinning peaches every day for the last week. Some peaches are nearly cherry-size by now, yet there are still blossoms on the tree. I think that the late blossoms will not mature into edible fruit. 5/19/06: We have two types of peaches; those that are going to grow to full size, and many more of the late bloomers that look like they'll be runts at best. The latest blossoms never even formed fruits. 5/30/06: The largest peaches are golf-ball size, while many others are the size of a marble or grape (and seemingly not growing). Yesterday I applied Diazinon to control worms and other pests. 7/4/06: We picked two large yellow peaches 4 days ago. They were good. We picked another small one yesterday, with the same result. We netted the tree because the birds were feasting on the peaches. The weather has been generally moderate to warm lately, so the small midget peaches had a chance to grow a little. 7/19/06: We continue to pick yellow peaches, we picked enough white peaches to can last weekend (7/16), though many of them were golf-ball sized. The largest white peach was about 1/2 lb., and the largest yellow perhaps a tad larger still. White peaches have suffered from worm damage. 7/22/06: picked the last of the yellow and white peaches this morning, except for a bunch of the stunted white peaches that we hope the birds will like. The late-variety of yellow peach has only a single fruit this year, so we'll allow the birds to munch on that one as well.
2007: The first blossoms opened up several days after lunar new year (Feb. 19). 3/11/07: The yellow peaches are now coming into bloom. White peaches are in full bloom. 3/25/07: By about a week ago the yellow varieties were in full bloom. Weather and pests being within reason, we should have a good crop this year. 5/13/07: We thinned a lot of peaches last week and the week before. It still needs some thinning, but somebody wants to get as many peaches as possible, regardless of size. 5/23/07: The yellow variety have surpassed the Babcocks in size, though we clearly have far more white peaches than yellow. 6/9/07: We staked up some more branches over the last few days, and thinned all varieties. The yellow peaches have a tiny bit of flavor right now, though they won't be ripe for weeks. I'm very concerned that branches will break. This tree and some of the other trees have a "weeping" look about them this year due to the heavy crops. 6/19/07: The yellow peaches have a delightful aroma, but are very firm, so they're not quite ripe. The white peaches are still on the small size, but we have to keep an eye out for potential branch breakage. 7/6/07: We picked all the yellow peaches save a few small ones on 7/4/07. They were not soft, but were quite ripe. So this year we collected nearly 25 lbs. of yellow peaches. On 7/3/07 the birds spoiled about 10 white peaches, so we netted the tree. Then yesterday we picked 10 lbs. of white peaches. They're very small this year, but the taste is still good. It also looks like we haven't watered the tree quite enough, as the peaches are occasionally cracking (which is unlike splitting). 7/17/07: We still have a handful of nearly- ripe fruit on the tree. 8/11/07: The peaches (white, plus some donut) that we stuck into the refrigerator several weeks ago are still good. We will hopefully be able to bake another pie later this week. Scarlet robe harvset begain on 6/24 and officially ended on 7/4, with a total of 23 lbs. White peach harvest began on 7/5 and ended on 7/12 with a total of 98 lbs.
2008: 3/13/08: As usual, the white peaches began blooming before the yellow peaches. All varieties are now in full bloom. The yellow peach that I grafted a few years ago didn't make it, probably because I didn't seal well around the cut where I inserted the twigs. 4/13/08: The blossom jackets, like the doughnut peach tree, seem difficult to shed this year. The yellow peach variety, like usual, develops later than the Babcock. The Babcocks are not yet the diameter of a dime. 6/7/08: We staked up many branches about 2 weeks ago, but there are still branches that won't be able to support all of the peaches when they get ripe. 6/22/08: We netted the Scarlet Robe peaches several days ago after the birds taste-tested one. The scent of these peaches is becoming very attractive, so we're "filching" peaches every time we walk by the tree, even before they're ripe. I expect harvest to begin almost any day now. 6/23/08: Picked 6 lbs of delicious Scarlet Robes today. 7/3/08: We've been picking 1-4 lbs of Scarlet Robes every day or two. They are ripening gradually, like the cherries did. 7/5/08: We picked a few lbs of white peaches yesterday and the day before. Pest damage has been moderate, with the worms taking a few peaches, and the birds getting almost as many. I'm surprised, though, that we don't have more peaches ripening. The coming heat wave should fix that. The branches are bent nearly to the breaking point, but I've taken to propping some of them up on the apple tree branches. Problem is, the apples are getting so heavy that it won't be long before those branches need to be propped up on the peach tree branches. 7/21/08: We picked the last of the peaches a few days ago, with the exception of a few stragglers. This was 70 lbs of white peaches for the year!
2009: 3/1/09: First blossoms opened today. Scarlet Robe peach has very few buds and looks like it is dying. 3/26/09: Scarlet Robe has more blossoms than originally observed, so will hopefully have a modest crop this year. The white peach varieties should also be OK, but not excellent. This tree is a candidate for replacement, as it seems generally to be only surviving and not vigorous in any way. 4/23/09: About 12 days ago I found leaf curl. I still think that the scarlet robe peach has never had an instance of leaf curl, so it's been lucky, or perhaps it's resistant to the disease. 6/27/09: We began picking ripe peaches on 6/24/09 (though my wife had raided the tree a few times for the not-quite- ripe peaches with their sweet-tart taste), and by now have about 8 lbs. Of 14 peaches picked earlier today 9 of them were midgets, while the other 5 sported very good size. 7/4/09: Picked the last of the yellow peaches on 6/30/09. Theeir skin seems thicker this year than in prior years, and it has almost a "crunch" to it. However, rather then detracting from the flavor it seems to enhance it. Don't ask me how this happens, I just report things as I see (or taste) them. These yellow peaches are the very best peaches I"ve ever tasted. I picked a few Babcocks a couple of days ago, and they're quite ripe.
2010: Babcock: 7/7/10: 2.5 lbs. 7/8/10: 1.0 7/11/10: 31.5 7/14/10: 4.75 7/24/10: 20.5 Total: 59.5 lbs. Scarlet Robe: 6/20/10: 8.5 lbs. 6/25/10: 2.5 6/27/10: 9.5 Total: 21.5 lbs.
2011: 3/14/11: First blossoms opened about two weeks ago, similar to last year. The Scarlet Robe variety has lots of blossoms, and appears to be in better shape than last year. The branches still die easily, but they're doing OK this year. Babcock: 7/4/11: 1.0 lb. 7/8/11: 23.0 lbs. 7/10/11: 8 lbs. 7/13/11: 3.0 lbs. 7/14/11: 51.0 lbs. 7/16/11: 8.0 lbs. Total: 94.0 lbs. Yellow Peach (Scarlet Robe) 6/27/11: 5.0 lbs. 6/29/11: 2.0 7/1/11: 1.0 7/2/11: 19 7/3/11: 3.5 Total: 30.5 lbs.
2012: 6/7/12: Leaf curl on the peach trees has been many times worse that the previous worst year. The Scarlet Robe peach graft has had good growth this year, and may also have a good crop.