Thin fruit to encourage growth
22.05.12
If you have peaches and nectarines, now is the time to start removing fruit so that the remaining fruit gets larger. Remove fruit that are gumdrop sized so that the fruit remaining on the limb is at least 4 inches apart. If the tree is not terribly healthy, then remove more fruit than this.
If you pick immature peaches or nectarines early when they are no larger than a large olive, try pickling them and packing them in oil for home use just as you would olives. They do this in the Mediterranean and Middle East where some people do not let any fruit go to waste.
Q: I live in the Mesquite area and have two nonproducing nectarines. One is a 7-year-old LeGrand and the other a 4-year-old Gold Mine. Both get plenty of flowers but no fruit. They are intermingled with plums, peaches and apricots -- all producers. Any idea what could be wrong?
A: First of all, thank you for keeping track of the variety of fruit trees you have. I cannot tell you how many times I have talked with people and they have no idea what variety of fruit tree they planted. Selecting the right variety makes a world of difference in the quality of the fruit you produce.
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal