Bush trees can be grown in two different ways: (a) in grass which must be kept constantly mown with the grass clippings allowed to remain each time as a mulch, thus helping to build up the necessary potash content of the soil; (b) on the straw mulching system by applying the straw all round the trees to the depth of a foot or so, and then using dried blood at 3 oz. to the sq. yard as a top dressing each February.
Today peaches are grown as bush trees, very much like plums, and in many areas are quite successful. It is important, however, to have some protection against the very cold winds of the spring, for me, who has been growing outdoor peaches for some ten years now, has only had heavy crops when the early spring was mild. It is not only the very early spring frosts, it is whistling cold winds also that can even damage the baby fruits soon after they are formed.
It must be said, on the other hand, that peaches are not very particular as to soil and I had grown them on heavy clay, and has seen them being successfully grown on both limestone and gravel soils. The great thing is perfect drainage, plus a certain amount of lime. Provide shelter from icy blasts and be sure to choose your spot well above the normal frost level.
Dig holes for peaches large enough for all the roots to be spread out evenly. Look for the soil mark on the stem and tend to plant a little more shallowly than in the nursery. Ram the soil down well as it is put into the hole over the roots spadeful by spadeful. After treading down well, rake the surface of the soil to leave a finished filth. Cover the surface of the soil with the straw mulch. If the idea is to grass down later, some people mulch round the tree with well-rotted compost after planting and then sow the grass the following year.
My friend Mr. Giles Tuker, who has an excellent fruit farm at Danbury, Essex, grows his peaches on Brompton Stocks and they are very successful. He has gravelly soil there and the bushes have grown large. Incidentally, he prunes these bushes on the spur system, rather like the Italians.
Mr. Justin Brooke, on the other hand, believes in pruning his bush peaches like blackcurrants, cutting out the old wood and retaining the new. He hates the plum stocks and believes that peaches do well on their own roots. He is a very successful peach grower, with his bushes at 20 feet apart.
Today peaches are grown as bush trees, very much like plums, and in many areas are quite successful. It is important, however, to have some protection against the very cold winds of the spring, for me, who has been growing outdoor peaches for some ten years now, has only had heavy crops when the early spring was mild. It is not only the very early spring frosts, it is whistling cold winds also that can even damage the baby fruits soon after they are formed.
It must be said, on the other hand, that peaches are not very particular as to soil and I had grown them on heavy clay, and has seen them being successfully grown on both limestone and gravel soils. The great thing is perfect drainage, plus a certain amount of lime. Provide shelter from icy blasts and be sure to choose your spot well above the normal frost level.
Dig holes for peaches large enough for all the roots to be spread out evenly. Look for the soil mark on the stem and tend to plant a little more shallowly than in the nursery. Ram the soil down well as it is put into the hole over the roots spadeful by spadeful. After treading down well, rake the surface of the soil to leave a finished filth. Cover the surface of the soil with the straw mulch. If the idea is to grass down later, some people mulch round the tree with well-rotted compost after planting and then sow the grass the following year.
My friend Mr. Giles Tuker, who has an excellent fruit farm at Danbury, Essex, grows his peaches on Brompton Stocks and they are very successful. He has gravelly soil there and the bushes have grown large. Incidentally, he prunes these bushes on the spur system, rather like the Italians.
Mr. Justin Brooke, on the other hand, believes in pruning his bush peaches like blackcurrants, cutting out the old wood and retaining the new. He hates the plum stocks and believes that peaches do well on their own roots. He is a very successful peach grower, with his bushes at 20 feet apart.
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When planning your garden, you can raised the garden bed with timber walls to enable a disabled person in a wheelchair.
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