Market Farming

["Lynn Wigglesworth" <lynnw AT chilitech.net>]

I have to make my report on this year's peaches. I've have one tree, but
I've NEVER been able to grow good peaches...they've always been so buggy
and disfigured that even my own family wouldn't eat them (I grow
organically, so won't spray with the usual sprays).

This year I tried Surround (I got mine from Garden's Alive). It is
fantastic! It's a kaolin clay mix that sticks to the skin of growing fruit
and makes it feel 'icky' to the bugs' feet...they don't like the feeling,
so move on to something more appealing. My peaches are small and some
developed some kind of black spot on the skin, but the insides are
perfect! Not a single worm hole or bit of bug damage!! I tried to spray
according to the instructions (every 2 weeks or so), but the weather
conditions were often not right, or I got distracted, so I held off for a
few days or a week, and it still worked! My only complaint is that the
Surround (a white spray) is REALLY hard to wash off the fuzzy skins. I
have no problem eating the residue (it's food grade and non-toxic), but I
wouldn't sell them that way...this year we ate/canned them all, so it
wasn't a problem.

My pears, on which I also used Surround, look pretty good, too, but aren't
ripe yet. It rained the entire week the apples were in bloom, so they
didn't get pollinated, and I only have a few pathetic apples this year...I
also sprayed them, but they look awful. Maybe it's bugs, maybe they
weren't properly pollinated. Anyway, I'd recommend trying Surround...it's
isn't very expensive, and may finally be a good solution for bug-free
organic fruit.

Lynn Wigglesworth
Peasant Farmer
Tioga County, PA