March Orchard Care
Pruning was completed on the 27th of February and I also replaced a few of the China Pearl and Contenders. For the China Pearl, this was primarily because the trees split due to the weight and wind last year so rather than replacing the whole tree I just planted a second “buddy” tree next to the original. This way I get fruit from half a tree until the replacement is producing in three years at which time I will cut the original tree down.
Right now we are picking up the pruning and placing them in a burn pile. Next year, assuming we have a good harvest this year, I will be investing in a flail mower rather than clearing and burning the clippings.
Once the ground is cleared, I will be air blast spraying the trees with Bravo Weatherstik and / or Pristine fungicides. I will also be spraying the orchard floor with 2-4D Amine, a broad leaf weed killer, and under the trees with a full spectrum herbicide to clear the ground under the trees.
The apricots have started blooming so I am going to temporarily move one of the heaters into the apricot area to protect them from a possible frost. This is going to mean running another underground propane line from one of the 500 gallon tanks I have. I hope to have that finished by the 10th in case the weather turns, as it usually does.
I have mostly Moorpark apricots but also a couple of Goldcot. Really, apricots bloom too early here so if I can’t protect them with the heater I may remove the trees.
The nectarines will bloom next.
There are some important issues for March and April in Tennessee with respect to stone fruit growth and the most concerning of these is “late frost”. Here is a link to some information on the topic, plus a quick “cheat sheet” chart.
UPDATE: We had a 24f night last week, 2nd week of March, so I turned the heaters on for 8 hours. as of today, 3/20, I still don’t know what the impact of the freeze will be, but generally I think we will be OK. The China Pearl flower later than everything else so I expect they will do well regardless.
Also, I was spraying with Brave Weatherstik today, 3 pints per acre, for peach leaf curl and brown rot, and it became too windy to complete so I will have to do the last 2 acres tomorrow morning. The weather has been reasonably dry this year so it’s not a panic, but then in another week to 10 days I will spray with Pristine.
I completed spraying with 2-4,D but have yet to spray with a broad spectrum herbicide under the trees. It is best to keep the ground completely clear under the tree because it helps to keep the tree warm if it frosts, ripen the fruit, and prevent disease. It’s also far easier than trying to mow beneath the trees and risking damaging the tree.