Currants
Tart and sweet, blackcurrant and redcurrant fruit have a short summer season, so grab them while you can.
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Peaches or nectarines are the perfect summer snack! Crunchy, oh-so juicy and full of flavour, these bite-sized fruits can be eaten whole (except for the stone, of course!), added fresh to your muesli or fruit salads. They’re ideal when they’re picked just ripe, so it’s a great reason to grow your own. And in case you’re wondering, peaches and nectarines are basically the same fruit – peach is the ‘furry’ form.
They grow best in cool climates as they require a certain number of chilling hours, but there are varieties available now that allow them to also grow in warmer areas. Check the label before purchasing to see if it’s right for your garden.
How to grow Peaches & Nectarines in a garden
- Choose a sunny spot with well-drained soil. Enrich the soil with Yates Dynamic Lifter Organic Plant Food. If the soil is clay based, add gypsum and fork in well.
- Dig the planting hole twice as wide and to the same depth as the root-ball. Remove the plant from the container, gently tease the roots and cut away any circled or tangled roots.
- Position in hole and backfill with soil, gently firming down.
- Form a raised doughnut shaped ring of soil around the outer edge of the plant's root zone. This helps keep water where it's needed. Always water in well after planting to settle the soil around the roots and keep the soil moist for several weeks while the new plant establishes.
- Mulch around the base with organic mulch like woodchip or pea straw, keeping it away from the trunk.
- Water deeply, once or twice a week, depending on weather conditions.
- During the growing and flowering/fruiting season, feed with Yates Thrive Citrus & Fruit Granular Plant Food. TIP: for an added boost during the flowering/fruiting season, apply Yates Thrive Citrus Liquid Plant Food.
How to grow Peaches and Nectarines in a pot
Peaches and Nectarines can be grown in pots, but look for the dwarf varieties,
such as 'Nectarine Flavourzee' and 'Peach Bonanza'.
- Choose a pot at least 600mm wide. Position in full sun and fill with quality potting mix, such as Yates Premium Potting Mix.
- Remove the plant from the container, gently tease the roots and cut away any circled or tangled roots.
- Position in pot and backfill with potting mix, gently firming down. Water in well.
- Water deeply, once or twice a week, depending on weather conditions.
- During the growing and flowering/fruiting season, feed with Yates Thrive Citrus Liquid Plant Food. Throughout the year, apply Yates Thrive Fish Blood & Bone Plant Food Concentrate.
Growing tips
- In the early stages of cropping, remove excess fruit – they can be rubbed off – so that the remaining fruit will grow to a good size.
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Heavily prune in winter to help open up the centre, to create an open vase-shape to allow more light and air to circulate. Once this framework is established, prune any dead, diseased, damaged and crowded branches as they develop.
- Peaches and Nectarines bear fruit on the side growing stems - called laterals - produced during the previous summer. Laterals bear fruit for one season only, to ensure good cropping, prune off previous year fruiting stems.
More Plants
Strawberry
Strawberries happily grow in raised garden beds, in the garden, in pots or even hanging baskets. Eat them fresh, cooked or make into jams.
Apples
Apples can grow into large trees, but you can also find dwarf forms. Be sure to find a self-fertile variety or two which can cross-pollinate.
Makrut Lime
Makrut lime trees are grown for their aromatic leaves and zesty fruits. Mostly used in dishes such as curries, soups, stir-fries, beverages and desserts.
Yates Thrive Citrus & Fruit Granular Plant Food
Fast acting, gradual feeding plant food specially formulated to grow citrus & fruit trees, with high potassium for more abundant fruit & added magnesium to help prevent leaf yellowing.
Yates Thrive Citrus Liquid Plant Food
Provides your citrus trees with the balanced nutrients they require for healthy growth, fruit production and development.
Yates Dynamic Lifter Organic Plant Food
Releases nutrients slowly, improves the structure and moisture retention of the soil and encourages earthworms and beneficial soil micro-organisms.
Yates Premium Potting Mix
A premium potting mix, ideal for all potted plants and shrubs, including ornamentals, fruit trees, vegies and herbs.
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