Life is Peachy
Yesterday the weather was perfect for picking peaches. The unseasonably warm weather is forecast to abruptly end. I'm not sure how I get caught off guard every year, but I get lulled into a sense of never ending autumn. Reality hits me with cold, rainy winds every fall. The peaches ripened late this year, one tree has been picked, nine more trees to go. The peaches are small but unbelievably delicious. For years we've heard that peaches don't grow in Iowa. The same rhetoric deafened us in Illinois. Fortunately we're too stupid to listen. That's why life is peachy.
Will you he bringing any to the drop off next week? Hope all is well up north there 🙂
If there are any peaches left I'll bring them. Kaj O'mara is predicting severe weather and hail which would strip the trees. Last night we picked two bags full for a customer who stopped by. The birds, who nest in the peach trees at night, were paralyzed by the flashlight beams. When we moved the light away a flock of them flew out of the tree.
What kind of peaches are you growing?
We're growing a few varieties. In both Illinois and here in Iowa we've had good luck buying stock from Jungs in Randolph Wisconsin. Our most successful peach trees, the hardiest peaches we've grown are ‘Polly’ peach trees; white flesh, clingstone. You can easily grow new trees from the 'Polly' variety. The trees don't live long, 7 - 10 years so rotate new stock often. They'll bear fruit the third year. Here's info from ISU We're in northeast Iowa, where peach trees "shouldn't" survive. Late spring frost will be an issue, so will insects, we use homemade traps