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puggylover75_gw

SUPER Peach! :)

Just picked my first Mid Pride peach. 12 1/2 ounces. WHOA! Is this the norm for Mid Pride? This isn't even the biggest one.

Anybody else growing Mid Pride?

Comments (13)

  • olpea
    11 years ago

    I don't grow May Pride, but 12.5 ounces is a big peach!

    I don't try to grow the maximum size peaches (since I don't irrigate) but it's fun to occasionally get a big one. My personal best is 0.83 pounds. It was from a Coralstar last year. The tree didn't set very many fruits and I guess the peach was in the perfect spot.

    As I recall the world record peach is over 2 lbs. Paul Friday used to hold the world record with his PF24-007. I'm not sure if he still has the record.

  • fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
    11 years ago

    Again looks over watered to me. Bigger isn't always better.

  • Puggylover Zone 9B Norco, CA
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I really wasn't trying for huge fruit. This tree was planted last spring. It is on citation and I left around 15 peaches on it. I thought my weekly watering was good. I will try and stretch it out from now on. Would every 10 or 14 days be better? The schedule is now weekly water at 1 gph, 7 drips, 3 foot diameter around trees (2 years or less old trees).Still learning all this, quite new. It is so dry, windy and hot here I thought I was doing good with the watering.

  • Kevin Reilly
    11 years ago

    Well, how did it taste?

  • Puggylover Zone 9B Norco, CA
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Brix was 13-14. Not sure what peaches should be at on that scale. Fruit was not as juicy as Eva's pride earlier this year nor as good. Seemed a little dryish. Flavor was ok, cold have been sweeter but had good tang. In spots is was good, closer to pit was more sour.

    When adjusting water would I just maybe go two weeks and see what happens? Is it ok to let them wilt and then water? Our temps will soon be in the mid 90-100 range steadily.

  • fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
    11 years ago

    Brix of 13-14 is barely eatable IMO but about average for peaches according to some sources. Upper teens is much better. In the 20s is superb IMO, maybe too sweet for some. For me water is a key factor but crop load and sunlight exposure are also critical. Reducing water after harvest won't help. A long period of water deficit before harvest will. A deficit the last couple weeks before harvest might help a little.

  • Puggylover Zone 9B Norco, CA
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Okay I get it I am an over waterer! LOL :). I will adjust for next year. Thanks Mr. Fruitnut!

  • blazeaglory
    11 years ago

    You got a peach like that off of a 2 year old tree?

  • Tha Pranksta
    11 years ago

    I've been across this forum a couple of times and I keep running across advice that says that for sweeter fruit the amount of water should be kept at a minimum. I am a home grower with only one peach tree and it is not yet ready for fruit production.

    What would you guys actually recommend as an appropriate amount of water to give it during its first year and also when it is able to produce fruit?

    I assume that since a peach tree can be easily water logged, it should receive less water than all the other trees I have. I have watered it at only about 4.5 gallons a week while I give my other trees about 5.5 gallons. And even had a span of about 2 weeks where I left it alone to see how it would thrive without me watering it and with only a little rain water. The leaves withered some but it seemed to still hold up very well. I have since gotten back on the usual schedule since the hot summer weather no longer allows me to deprive my tree as such.

  • fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
    11 years ago

    tha:

    Your situation is a lot different than mine. In your case it might be a minimum of water after the tree is established, ie zero irrigation except during real drought. My minimum in my greenhouse is zero, yours is what your soil and nature provides plus what you add. I shoot for about 66-75% of "full irrigation". This is about 3 inches per month in summer in my greenhouse. Outdoors here it would be 6-8 inches per month during dry weather. You may be somewhere in between.

    I cut the water back until the trees stop growing. I don't know if you can do that. You need to learn to read your trees and fruit and hope the weather cooperates. There is no set answer.

  • Puggylover Zone 9B Norco, CA
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Blaze,

    Yes, I was amazed. This tree actually went in March of 2011. I had left around 15 or so peaches on it this year and almost all of them are huge. None of my other peach trees were like that. Doesn't seem anybody is growing Mid Pride so I don't have anything to compare to. Had another one this morning and was much better than the last.

  • olpea
    11 years ago

    I don't water peach trees (outdoor) at all. I do mulch and the soil is high in organic matter which holds a lot of moisture. On an average year we get about 5" of rain/month through July then it drops down to 3-4"/month.

    This year it has been very dry here. We got a 2" rain two nights ago, but before that we had a 2 month period with hardly any rain at all. Fruit quality has been very good and insect & disease pressure has been unusually low (I assume due to the minimal rainfall.) Unmanaged apple trees in the neighborhood actually look pretty good.

    Lack of rain has been hard on new trees/plants. I planted 200 blackberry plants this spring. We didn't have our normal spring rains and only 60 plants came up/survived.

  • blazeaglory
    11 years ago

    I was thinking about getting mid pride.