Yes, it’s already June. Not officially summer according to the calendar but temperatures here in Southeastern Indiana are such that we’re thinking Summer. Plentiful rainfalls have put planting behind schedule for the grain farmers. However, for our orchard these rains and warm temperatures have created a welcome “lushness.” Deep green foliage with developing fruit is a beautiful sight.
The peach and apple trees survived the ups and downs of the Spring temperatures with lots of consecutively wet days. We experienced “cool” temperatures during and after the trees bloomed but escaped “cold” temperatures that would freeze developing fruit. In short, a more typical Spring season this year.
Plant development depends largely on temperature. The warmer the temperatures, the faster plants develop. The cool weather of early Spring slowed the bud development. We do not want the fruit buds to develop too much too soon. Buds that develop too early (March) in the season become vulnerable to frost damage. Later in the Spring (April) we look forward to Mother Nature to provide warmer temperatures for bud development and bloom and this year Mother Nature did not disappoint. Although our bloom was good, the pollinating period was shortened by days of consecutive rain. However, we are happy to say we will have apples and we WILL have peaches, just not the size of crop we had last season.
The development of the fruit is really fascinating to observe. Every day it grows a little. At this point of time, most of the apples are the size of quarters. The peaches are at about the same size, maybe a little larger. We are working to keep the fruit “clean.” With all the rains and wind our area has been receiving, it is a daily challenge to keep scab and other diseases from affecting the appearance of the fruit.
Along with the lushness and growth of the trees, the inevitable has also occurred, WEEDS. There is the age old formula, Sunlight + Water + Warm Temperatures = WEEDS. The next few weeks’ “to-do” lists include maintaining and controlling the weeds and grasses. The good thing about having an orchard is the fact that we never run out of things to keep us busy.