Fruity Focus - Peaches

Prunus persica, commonly known as the peach fruit, plays a huge part in several cultures around the world, and not just because of their culinary purposes and tasty flavour. 

 

In China, peach blossoms are highly valued as a symbol of vitality; this belief stems from the process of the flower blossoms decorating the branches before the leaves appear. In the past, early rulers of China were also protected by guards armed with rods of peach wood. It was thought that these peach sticks would deter any evil spirits they might come across when travelling. Another custom in China associated with peaches, is the practice of placing branches from a peach tree above your door on New Year’s Eve to prevent any evil spirits from entering with the New Year.

In European history, the peach was largely linked to art and a number of famous painters, including Monet and Van Gogh. Peaches and peach trees were painted in various settings to create symbolic meanings. One reoccurring theme during the Renaissance was a peach fruit painted with a leaf; the peach represented a heart, whereas the leaf symbolised a tongue. The significance of this painting was thought to mean speaking the truth from one’s heart. Ripe peaches were also painted often to signify a state of good health.

In the world today, China is the largest producer of peaches and a hybrid fruit has been created in Australia and New Zealand, known as a peacherine. A peacherine is a cross between a peach and a nectarine, which come from the same species but are classed as different fruits due to the dissimilarity in skin texture; peaches have fuzz, nectarines do not.

The variety of peach available on our website is the Rochester Peach. This peach has a wonderful sweet flavour and can be used for either cooking, or to eat immediately once ripe. Rochester Peach trees are a hardy tree and grow well in the UK climate, as they are frost resistant and can tolerate harsh weather conditions. A self-fertile variety, Rochester not only produces fruit without a pollination partner but also displays beautiful pink blossoms in spring, giving additional seasonal interest.

It’s no surprise that the Rochester Peach tree has received the RHS’s Award of Garden Merit; it would make a stunning and rewarding feature tree in any garden. Click here for more information on our Rochester Peach trees, or take a look at our Fruit Cropping Calendar to discover when your tree will yield the most fruit.

Handy Tips on How to Store Your Fruit

Given the warm weather we have seen early on this summer, fruit trees are bearing their crops slightly earlier than is normally expected. So we thought it was a good time to start thinking about fruit storage so that you can enjoy the fruits of your labour for longer.

It is a shame when you have huge crops of fruit and struggle to use them all before they pass their best. No one likes to see food wasted – particularly not if you have grown it yourself. One way to prevent this with apples, pears, quince and medlar is to store the fruit. This not only prolongs the life of the fruit but it means that crops that come in to fruition in September or October could still be ok to eaten 2 or 3 months down the line.

It tends to be the varieties that ripen towards the end of the fruit season that take better to storage, such as Bramley’s seedling apples and conference pears.

The fruit will all store for different lengths of time but the majority will manage between 4 to 8 weeks.
Anywhere will do for storage really so long as it is cool (around 5°C), frost free, slightly humid, dark and well-aerated. It is also important that there are no pests around to spread disease (or eat your fruit!) An ideal fruit store could be a cellar, garage or garden shed.

There are 4 key steps to follow when storing fruit:

1. Make sure the container you use will allow air to move through it. Something like a crate or slatted shelves would work well.
2. Pick fruit to put in the store just before it ripens as under-ripe fruit stores better. It is also a good idea to check that they are blemish free, with their stalks intact, so that they do not deteriorate in the store and impact on other fruit stored nearby
3. Lay the fruit in single layers, not touching. Try not to bruise the fruit as it is put in to the store. Apples can be laid on top of each other but make sure enough air can still get through to all of the fruit
4. Keep different crops separate as they ripen at different rates and keep them away from strong smells like paint or onions which may taint the fruit.

Once in store it is important to check your fruit regularly as it can ripen at different rates. You will notice a subtle change in colour and texture as they ripen. Once they are almost ripe bring the fruits in to the house to allow them to warm up from the cold. Fruits leak a stronger scent when they ripen and this can impact on the speed of ripening of other fruits, so they need to be removed quickly from the batch.

If you see any disease starting in the fruit as you check it make sure you remove the infected fruit so that the problem does not spread across the healthy crop.

How Do I Get A Good Plum Crop?

There’s nothing better than biting in to a ripe British plum – having the juice run through your hands as you nibble round the stone.  Plums, particularly the Victoria plum, are seen as quite British fruits and they make a great addition to any garden or patio.

Early Development of our Rivers Early Prolific Plum Crop

However they still need a bit of love and care to make sure that you get lots of fruit from your trees. As plums tend to flower quite early in the year versus other fruits it is important to choose a warm, frost-free location for your tree to make sure that it isn’t damaged by any extreme cold weather. It’s also a good idea to choose fertile, moist soil to grow the tree in as they like to absorb up plenty of nutrients.

Handy Hint – to increase the nutrient content of your soil try adding some Bonemeal when planting.

There are several varieties which will fare well in the British climate; including Opal, Victoria, Czar and Marjorie’s Seedling. Victoria is probably the easiest to grow and is a great option if you want flexibility in the kitchen, as you can eat the fruit straight from the fruit bowl or cook with it to make a delicious plum crumble.  However you may find that other options like Opal and Czar provide fully flavored options. There is a range to choose from at the Fruit Trees Direct Website

Depending on the amount of space you have in your garden Marjorie’s Seedling or Victoria may be the most suitable options as they are self-fertile trees, meaning they do not need to be near another plum tree to produce a good crop of fruit. Other varieties may need a pollination partner to produce their fruit, which means you need at least 2 plum trees to make sure you get a strong harvest.

Tips for growing plums

Given the early flowering nature of plum trees they are best planted in sheltered areas to ensure that they escape any late frosts. They should also be planted in well-drained but moist soils.

Handy hint – apply some very well rotted mulch to the soil once the tree has established to improve the nutrient content of the soil and to help keep the moisture in. It is important the mulch is well rotted so that it has been drained of any initial toxins.

Add Bonemeal to the soil in the spring to increase the nutrient content of the soil and then again in winter before the cold weather hits.

For young plum trees you may want to consider planting with a stake and tie kit to make sure the tree is stable in the soil as its root system gets established.  You can find some to choose from here http://www.fruittreesdirect.co.uk/planting-essentials-c29

Plum trees are best pruned in early spring and then thinned as the crop starts to produce to make sure that the fruits don’t get too heavy and snap any weaker branches

In order to make your crop last longer it is a good idea to pick some of the plums just before they are ripe and place them in to a cold storage area (like a larder or basement) – this way they will last about another 3-4 weeks.

Handy Hint – Make sure when you pick the early plums that you leave a little stalk on there to encourage them to ripen.

At the end of the season make sure any fruits left on the tree are removed to prevent any disease spreading over the winter in to next season’s crop