As I illustrated previously in a weird cartoon, growing peaches from pits is easy and worthwhile. Germinating peach pits is easy – it just takes a little time.
This is the time of year to gather local peaches from Farmer’s Markets and roadside stands and start growing your own. Make sure they’re moderately local fruit, however, as varieties grown up north may not meet the chill requirements here in Florida. (Of course, you could try anyhow – let me know if you have luck!)
My peach trees are almost done with their first crop. The fruit was absolutely superb in flavor, and we harvested at least a dozen fruit off one of the two trees I planted out back. The other tree wasn’t as precocious in its fruiting as the other and is also holding its single fruit for longer. Perhaps one will be an earlier season bearer and the other will be a few weeks later. That’s how it seems at this point, since the one tree is picked out and the other hasn’t finished yet.
Very exciting, and a good testimony to the value of genetic diversity on a homestead.
Remember, these trees are still LESS than TWO YEAR OLD.
They’re almost 10′ tall at this point and have completely beaten the 6′ tall trees I planted three years ago from potted and grafted nursery stock.
To fight nematodes, I’ve thrown lots of compost around their bases, including mustard and cabbage greens, which both reputedly beat back our tiny creeping enemies.
Another interesting thing about these seed-grown peaches: the shape of the tree is naturally growing in a multi-trunked vase shape that’s quite easy to pick. I’m not going to prune them at all and we’ll see what happens.
Even if I lost both of the tree at this point due to nematodes, I’m only out a little bit of time… and we’ve already enjoyed a nice basket of peaches.
Other trees worth trying to grow in this fashion: plums, nectarines and cherries, if you can find any from low-chill trees. If any of my cherry trees manage to fruit, you know what I’m doing with the resulting pits.
Now go – find some peach pits to plant! Follow the stratification method in the comic linked above and you won’t be disappointed.
16 responses to “Update on growing peaches from seed”
Dave, any pest control to keep the fruit that nice looking?
BTW my Arracacha (Tropical Celery Root) did not survive, will try again in July.
No pest control required yet. Probably just lucky so far, though I do grow lots and lots of weeds so I've got beneficial insects everywhere.
My Tropical Celery also failed to grow, dang it. Don't know what happened.
That is fabulous! I can't believe how young those trees are! Great cartoon too. :)
Thank you. I was very, very surprised.
Dave, I am going back down in July, will send some more, I was able to grow it in Northern Virginia once (by pure luck) and will try it again. Tasty greens for soups and a celery flavored tuber? Perfect permaculture stuff!
Oh yeah. It needs to happen.
Saw the NemaDeath Brew post, but couldn't find a follow-up post on how well it worked- do you recommend David's Ultra-Scary NemaDeath as out of beta test and now in production? :)
Hehehehehe. I need to plant more bush beans there to do a proper test, but I do have some soybeans growing in that bed and doing fine.
Dr. Good (as addressed by Herrick Kimball)
I see by your profile you are a master gardener having used a wide variety of techniques. I am off topic for this post but would like to ask. I am considering using the Ruth Stout technique in Texas and would like to ask if you have an opinion on this technique vs. using plastic row cover or ground tree mulch. I have already sheet composted with chicken manure and leaves. The fall garden cometh soon.
Thanks for your help.
Jim
Yes, I do have opinions. Probably too many for my own good.
I really like some of Ruth Stout's approach. My main complaint is that it relies on a conspicuous consumption of resources. Getting lots of mulch isn't always easy, plus it's a haven for slugs. Here's a breakdown on my feelings:
http://theprepperproject.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-deep-mulch-gardening/
It really depends on what you hope to accomplish in your garden. My favorite method for annual gardening is the John Jeavons approach. Double-digging, a bit of compost and voila – nice yields and loose soil. In a perennial system, I prefer lots of mulch and organic matter, plus I like to let some weeds grow.
If I were in your shoes, I'd experiment with a couple of methods and see how they fit your climate. This year, be prepared to take some losses for the sake of science. Then next year, go with what works.
I hope that's helpful.
Okay, I just stuck some dirt and a kernel into the fridge. This better work! Thanks for the info.
It was all a lie. It won't work.
Hehehhehehehehehehehhe.
[…] will give you a sense of accomplishment like nothing else. I still remember how excited I was when my seedling peach trees fruited for the first time. It’s a great […]
Really excited to try this again, my past attempts failed with store bought. We bought some from our local farmers market this time. Only one of our peach trees has fruited but they were tiny and quickly eaten by birds or blown off in a storm. The others died to the ground but most came back up this spring. They all bloomed but late frost killed off all of the blooms so no fruit this season. We also bought a basket of small local plums, no idea what type but they are not quite ripe yet. I really want to try yo grow those from seed as well to see what I get.
Having eaten two locally grown peaches now, the pits were already split and the one my wife ate was very easy to open. Is this normal? No idea what variety but they were locally grown on a farm probably less than two miles from me. I did find one small peach on our largest tree today, as I was pruning off a lot of the crazy growth that came on in Spring. I also noticed aphids, they’re everywhere, on everything, and those evil Japanese beetles too.
I don’t know, but I’ll bet they still sprout.