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franktank232

Saturn donut peach

franktank232
10 years ago

{{gwi:122494}}

{{gwi:122495}}

Not sure if it was the calcium chloride sprays or the dry weather the past 6 weeks, but these things are spotless other then the slight hail damage they sustained about 3 weeks ago... The one thing I wonder is size...are these really this small or is it just this year? This tree is in a 15 gallon pot and had about a dozen fruits. My kids just love them...pure sugar.

Comments (5)

  • alan haigh
    10 years ago

    6 weeks of dry weather preceding harvest should be all you need for pristine peaches- at least an early peach.

    Saturn probably runs about half the weight of an average sized peach but after that, thinning is the most important thing size-wise, if leaves near fruit have good exposure to sun. Only very dry conditions might make for such small ones as yours, weather- wise, I think. Not just 30 days of it, though.

    She seems quite happy with the size of them.

  • franktank232
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Too many fruit/not enough leaves? I guess next year I'll have to thin it some...see if that helps size them up some.

    If a person could grow a large amount of these in this condition, you could cash in at a farmers market...they are like candy. Plus they look cool.

  • olpea
    10 years ago

    Nice peaches Frank, and a cute little girl.

    One thing I don't like about the donuts is that the trees seem to grow straight up. The weight of the fruit doesn't pull the branches down much. Not a huge problem, but a bit of an inconvenience. I agree they do look cool.

    I haven't tasted Saturn yet except once I bought a few at a grocery store. As I recall they were a dollar a piece and each one was individually wrapped. Even from a grocer they were a good peach.

  • Scott F Smith
    10 years ago

    Saturn is not a big peach, they look a little but not a lot small.

    Have you had significant brown rot before? It usually takes about five years of fruiting for the spores to build up to a level of problems. I had great Saturns for several years before the rotfest began.

    Next year my plan is to try the sulphur plus calcium routine and see how it does. This year one midsummer MFF has kept me good. I am now getting small amounts of rot on bug/bird bitten areas on a few susceptible peach varieties, but clean fruit are all bug-free.

    Scott

  • franktank232
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I did find an Alderman plum yesterday covered in brown rot... i buried that. I more or less lost my entire sweet cherry crop from brown rot....that is 3 trees worth. We ate a few under ripe cherries. In the past its been hit or miss. Seems like if its hot/humid/wet...its bad. This late July/Aug has been more like autumn. Sunny days/cold nights (52F this morning)...lots of fog/dew so not sure if that is good or not. I'm in the river valley so its always more foggy here. Under 3 inches of rain since July 1st. I just hope to get this stuff ripe before Christmas! I still have Flavor Queen pluots that are fully green, the Flavor King have at least started turning. Dapple Dandy have started coloring up...and the Geo Pride are fully turned..just waiting for them to soften up some. The TangOs almost look ready..just waiting a few more days. My Raritan Rose are ripe..but they also seem on the small side this year.