Peaches and Nectarines
This October
Stone fruits include peaches, plums, apricots, cherries, nectarines, and their crossbreeds. Most require sufficient cold hours to go dormant (drop their leaves and go to sleep). A period of dormancy is necessary for such trees to flower and produce fruits.
Most peach and a few nectarine varieties grown in Zambia can handle the mildly cold weather in winter. The peaches and early-season nectarines will have large yields despite being a month late in their fruiting schedule.
The peaches should have received their first fruit fly preventive spray, and fruit fly traps should be in place. The peaches should be thinned out for bigger fruits. Continue to much the soil, and add manure or compost/ fertilizer. Water deeply, at least once a week, twice if the plants are potted.
This time last year
