Avalon Pride Peach Tree

May. It's that time of year when you feel as if you've put a lot of effort into your kitchen garden - and it's not paying off yet - as there isn't an awful lot to harvest. It's too early.

But look at these. They are very small peach fruitlets left over from thinning our Avalon Pride peach tree.

It's been quite a journey for us all. The tree went in two seasons ago (in autumn 2007). The first year it was hit badly by frost, and despite being sold as 'peach leaf curl resistant' it got peach leaf curl too.

I sprayed with Bordeaux mixture the first year, didn't want to do it again if it could be avoided, as this is no longer recommended for organic fruit growing. So I decided to start growing garlic around it. I'd heard garlic is a natural antiseptic and that it would keep fungal diseases like peach leaf curl away. So far we're in luck.

Peach trees are said to flower very early in the year, and that presented us with another challenge. It gets quite windy down on our allotment plot, and it's almost impossible to keep decent frost protection in place on a small tree. Also, as regular readers will know, our plot is some distance away from the house and I can't go down there every day, so even if I did use frost protection, I couldn't take it off regularly to allow pollinating insects to get at the flowers. I have heard that some people use paintbrushes to pollinate peaches. But if you ask me, life really IS too short...

So this spring, we decided to let our peach tree fend for itself. It survived the frost. I don't exactly know whether this was due to the weather alone, or the fact that the tree is now older and taller - (and therefore less susceptible to frost). We now have some frost protection in the shape of a Cherry Plum hedge, (cherry plums were once used as a wind break for orchards) so that might have been a factor.

As far as pollination goes, this is supposed to be tricky too. The reason is the same - the early flowering - there aren't so many pollinating insects about. But this year on our allotment our rosemary bush flowered really early too - and I noticed a lot of bee activity early on.

So, as you can see - we ended up with quite a number of fruitlets - some of which I have removed to enable the other peaches to grow strongly and well. There were about twenty five fruitlets on the tree, and I've removed about ten. I hope this was the right thing to do, so far I've not found anybody who is growing an Avalon Pride Peach Tree in the U.K. I'd be glad to hear from readers if they know someone I can swap notes with...

So - looks like all we need now is a hot summer....and for the vandals to stay away.

What are you planning to plant this year?

Looking forward to warmer days but not the hard work of Spring? What are you planning to plant this year? My answer is:
AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE.

Here's why: The game plan over the past two years, was to cover as much of my plot as possible with PERENNIAL PLANTINGS. These don't need a lot of tending and I don't need to re-sow them each season.
They're surrounded by a MULCH which cuts down on watering and weeding. I use cocoa shells for the more unusual fruit and veg, and plain old newspapers and wood chip on top for the rest.

Two years ago an ASPARAGUS BED and a PEACH TREE (Avalon Pride) went in. The Asparagus is doing really well - not convinced about the Peach Tree (this is a long story - I'll tell you why I think it is high maintenance in another post).

TWO COMFREY BEDS were established on the edges of the plot. (In case you didn't know organic gardeners use these for fertilising and to speed up the composting process).

BLACKBERRIES, RASPBERRIES, 1 REDCURRANT AND 3 BLACKCURRANTS took up residence in 2007. Followed by A PEAR TREE (Bon Cretien - 2007), ten CHERRY PLUM BUSHES (these provide a windbreak as well as fruit) and RHUBARB (Victoria) in 2008.

In between these plants and near the paths I've made room for some flowers. Last year I allowed my POACHED EGG PLANTS to self-seed, and they're still going strong despite the frost. (see the picture at the top of the page). As well being pretty ground cover these plants encourage hoverfly which prey on aphids and other 'nasties'. I let a few NASTURTIUMS self-seed too, and then there's a couple of lavender and sage plants which will hold up well for at least another season. There's also a little bit of CHAMOMILE which the bees love.


Since the two forty year old apple trees I inherited from a previous owner are still fruiting well, that leaves me with around TWELVE largish raised beds I need to fill each season. Three of these are now home to AUTUMN SOWN ONIONS and GARLIC so that's NINE raised veg beds left I have to plan and play with...

I've got my RAISING-PLUG-PLANTS-IN-SUCCESSION-IN-MINI-GREENHOUSES-SYSTEM set up: (look back at my November post: Developing a Growing System that works for you) - just need to order some seeds now and when that weather turns I'll hit the ground running...

Don't Dig!

Every autumn on our site I see fellow allotmenteers stumbling up and down the paths, taking a break from their ritual seasonal digging. Usually they're groaning, if not in some sort of physical pain! The question is...

WHY DO THEY DO IT TO THEMSELVES?

Alright, I understand some people LIKE digging. Good luck to them and if they really need the extra exercise, then fine.

But some of the finest organic gardeners like CHARLES DOWDING
http://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/ haven't DUG for the past TWENTY FIVE YEARS.

If the NO-DIG approach is good enough for a highly successful organic market gardener like Charles, then it's good enough for me!

Here's how I went about establishing my own no-dig system in brief:

STEP ONE
Using a LOOSEN and LIFT system I removed all the perennial weeds I could find (things like dandelions, nettles and thistles) with a fork.

STEP TWO
I don't intend to DIG OVER my plot ever again now that the majority of these weeds are out. All the evidence I've found (including my own practical experience) tells me that digging can actually INCREASE the rate at which weeds regrow, and it can actually DAMAGE rather than IMPROVE the soil structure. So I now use mulching to keep the weeds down. (I'll come back to this one)

As you can see from previous posts - I'm raising my own plug plants at home to plant out, so I rarely need the 'fine tilth' that mainstream gardening books often speak about. (When the small plants are planted out, they are generally sturdy enough to copy with larger soil particles). In the main I would spend the time having a break - sitting on my deck chair and letting the WORMS do the hard work.

To those who remain sceptics I'd say - spend some time with Charles Dowding's site http://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/. Don't knock it until you've tried it and you could save yourself a lot of time and trouble!

The No Work Garden

There are thousands of (expensive) books out there about gardening - and quite a few about organic fruit and vegetable growing. Confusing isn't it?

During the weeks up to Christmas, I'm going to tell you what I think about just NINE of them. That means only the ones I've found:

1. Really useful during the last two and half years OR
2. Hugely entertaining (and suitable for Christmas gifts?)and/or
3. Good enough to spend my own money on!

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE COMPLETE LIST : http://astore.amazon.co.uk/quesgardtime-21

(BOOK NUMBER ONE) is Bob Flowerdew's 'The No Work Garden':

Bob has a few books out there. This one does exactly what it says on the tin, he tells us 'how to get the most out of our garden with the least amount of work'.

I most valued the way he dismantles some of the conventional myths you hear about gardening, in particular about autumn digging. Alright we know that some people like it. We also know that you need to get your perennial weeds out and compost them carefully. But once that is done, you can really start the transition to a no dig approach, save your back and work more efficiently.

'Keep your eye on the ball' Bob says. 'If you want tasty veg, but your neighbour grows prize winning specimens, don't be distracted.'

There's more information and reviews on the Amazon store link. Yes, you're right - it is advertising and I do earn a small commission if you buy there.

I'm working for free right now - most bloggers know how long it takes to get a successful blog up and running. So if you like 'Questioners Garden Time' and plan to buy one of these books, support me and buy it via the link!

Alternatively, drop a heavy gift hint with your loved ones or ask for it at your local library:

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