Tag: fruit

  • How I grow stone fruit trees from seed

    How I grow stone fruit trees from seed

    How I grow stone fruit trees from seed. There’s a huge variety of stone fruit and if you’re lucky to live in a climate where they grown, they’re so delicious and amazing trees to have in the garden. 

    Grab your favourite stone fruit

    In this case I chose peaches. I love the white peaches in particular. It’s a habit I picked up in Japan where the white peaches are so big, they’re a meal in one. Eat your fruit and save the pit. 

    Give it a rinse to get the flesh off, it will be easier to handle.

    Hammer time

    Grab a hammer (or you can use something else solid – a brick) and hit the pit gently on the seam. It will eventually crack open. Hit it repeatedly but gently. If you hit it too hard you’ll likely smash the soft seed inside. It takes practice. 

    Check the quality of your seed. 

    Prepare your seed

    If the seed looks pale yellow and dried up, it is likely a goner. Your seed needs to be round and firm. Put it into some water for a few hours to rehydrate.

    Plant your seed

    last your seed into a pot, a sandy soil seems to be good. 2-3cm or 1″ deep is plenty. Keep the soil moist and put it in the shade. Full sun will likely kill the seed. 

    You got peaches!

    After a month or so, your seed will germinate and a small seedling will grow. Keep it in the shade and grow it to 40cm or 1ft. Bigger if you’d like. Then plant it in the ground in a sunny position, water it often and mulch the base. 

    Put plenty of organic matter in the hold when you plant it. Fruit trees love that. It will take a few years, but eventually you will have grown a beautiful peach tree that bears lots of yummy peaches!

    I’ve grown lots of stone fruit trees this way. I have several nectarines growing via this method at the moment. Good luck!

    Drop a comment below if you found this useful or join me on Threads for more.

  • How to save your fruit trees and plants from the summer sun

    How to save your fruit trees and plants from the summer sun

    I transplanted these two trees a few months ago, well before summer. But it was a warm few months and they were out in full sun. They’ve suffered some burn and all of the small exterior branches have dried up.

    It’s time to give them some TLC as it’s December here in Perth and daily temps are up around 30 – 40C / 85 – 105F. All right, let’s get to work!

    Shade

    Firstly let’s get them out of full sun. The sun here in Australia cooks trees with no leaves and the ability to transpire and draw more water up.

    I moved both of the trees under the back verandah in the shade with no direct sun. They have shade cloth behind them so no sun will hit them at all.

    Water

    Next, I gave them a biiiig drink. They’ve been thirsty and the soil has been drying out by the middle of the day. That means they’ve been cooking for the last half of the day and dry all night.

    I did run the sprinkler over them in the afternoons, but it wasn’t enough.

    Fresh Soil

    Top up the soil. Because of the heat, the soil has dried and compacted and needs a refresh. Lift the plant and soil (root ball) out and add a little fresh soil and fertiliser to the base of the pot.

    Then replace the plant and root ball and add more fertiliser and top it up with soil.

    Mulch

    Cover the soil with a thick layer of mulch. I’m using oaten hay at the moment and it seems to work well. 7cm / 2 inches is good.

    Water

    Water them in again so the fertiliser starts to working the soil and mulch settled down.

    Recovery

    Water it in. Keep the soil slightly moist and within a couple weeks you may see recovery signs if it’s warm. Small green leaves will sprout, a good sign.