Cold Nights Delay Fruit Tree Bloom

   The continued cold nights we've had for the past few weeks have delayed fruit bud development of all our fruit trees.  So the peach trees and pear trees will bloom several weeks later than they did last year, which may allow them to avoid damage from spring frosts.  This morning it was 27 F here, and tomorrow morning it should be 25 F, but those temperatures won't hurt fruit buds of any of our fruit trees, since they're all still in the tight bud stage.  At this stage, the enveloping petals and sepals protect the pistil, the female flower part that produces the fruit, from cold damage.
   In Feb. 2017 we had such warm temperatures that our plumcot trees started blooming in late Feb., and the entire plumcot crop was lost to spring frosts in March.  This year, plumcot fruit buds have remained in the white bud stage for 2 weeks now due to cold nights, and they'll bloom 3 weeks later than they did last year, so hopefully we'll have a plumcot crop this year.

Plumcot fruit buds have remained in this white bud stage for 2 weeks now due to cold nights, so hopefully we'll have a plumcot crop this year.

   This past winter, temperatures dropped to -8 F, which killed most peach fruit buds on some peach varieties, but it looks like we'll have enough remaining live buds for a good crop on some other peach varieties, if we make it through the next 4 weeks of frost season without excessive damage.  Apple and pear fruit buds are much more cold-hardy in mid-winter, and can take -20 to -30 F without damage, so we should have good pear and apple crops if we don't have excessive frosts.

Daffodils have just started blooming around our house, while the peach trees in the far back right of the photo (beyond the pines) are still in the tight bud stage.

   This past Thurs., Fri. and Sat., I planted 37 more peach trees.  We now have 157 bearing peach trees and 71 young, non-bearing peach trees that I just planted last year or this year, for a total of 228 trees.  Peach trees start to bear about 3 years after planting, and start producing heavily about 5 or 6 years after planting.  They'll continue bearing well for another 8 to 12 years after that, if planted on well-drained soil and properly pruned and thinned.
   Peach trees are short-lived trees, so many of them die by 15 or 16 years old.  Our original peach orchard, that I planted in 2002, is now 16 years old, and we have lost about 25% of those 145 trees now, so have 109 left.  I planted a second peach orchard in 2012 and 2013, and a third peach orchard in 2017 and 2018, to come into production as the older trees die off.
   We still have many harvested 'Enterprise' and 'GoldRush' apples for sale now and for the next 4 months or so, until late June or early July.  'Enterprise' apples are sweet-tart, crisp and juicy, great for fresh eating and for making pies, applesauce, apple butter, etc.  They keep well in a refrigerator for 6 to 7 months.  'GoldRush' apples keep well in a refrigerator for 8 to 10 months, and have gotten sweeter now in in cold storage, as starches convert into sugars.

I made this Healthy Apple Salad, featuring our 'Enterprise' and 'GoldRush' apples and pecans, for my husband Bill's Kansas Nut Growers meeting last Sat., and all got eaten.  The recipe is posted as a Note on the Brendas Berries Facebook page.

   We're still selling our last and largest pecan variety, 'Pawnee'.  We sell our papershell pecans in 4-pound bags that contain at least 75% pecan kernels, so you get the equivalent of at least 6 pounds of in-shell pecans in each bag.  These pecans are very fast and easy to pick out, and when you pick out the pecans, you get over 3 pounds of nutmeats.  We still have enough pecans for about 150 bags, and we'll have cracked pecans for sale until we sell out, probably till mid- to late April.
   Scroll down to the previous blog post, dated March 3, for apple and pecan prices and photos.
   We're still open by appointment until May 31.  That means, during Dec. to May, to phone 620-597-2450 a day ahead and leave a message on the answering machine with your name, the crops you want, and the day and time you're coming.  The phone rings in the house, so I'll answer it on super-cold days when I'm inside working on the computer.  On warmer days, I'll get your message when I come in from working in the the sales building or orchard.  Then I'll meet you in the sales building when you arrive here.
   (Don't wait to call until you're on your way here, or I probably won't get your message before you arrive here.  When I'm out planting fruit trees or pruning, I can't always see or hear vehicles come in.)
   You can make an appointment for between 9:00 and 11:45 a.m. or between 1:00 and 5:15 p.m. Mon. to Sat., and between 1:30 and 5:15 p.m. Sundays.  We're closed every Sunday morning, year-round, for church.