Joni, now is the time to act. First thing is to get the fungicides going; start with a liquid copper/dormant oil mix at this time, and after the tree blooms spray with captan. Those two actions will get you into the cycle of treating your tree, but must be followed up with a succession of treatments that you can find on the extension service's website.

I recommend digging out the soft wood and eggs; discard.

Peaches need to be thinned to about one every eight inches. This will take stress off the limbs and give you nicer fruit. Do this when the peachlets are about the size of a pea or marble. Even so, if your limbs are loaded with big, juicy queens, you will need to prop up the limbs for support.

You should have a nice harvest this year if you follow these steps. Good luck. Misterbaby.

I have a yoing peache tree which apears very healthy with buds all over. I did spray it with Bonide dormant oil spray. Do I have to use copper? You are right I thin all my fruit trees but I don't follow your method of one every 8 inch. I just move one and skip one. May be I should thin more. I rather have few very healthy juicy ones than a lot of small sick ones.

FP, I treat my trees with Lime Sulfur at leaf drop and copper at bud swell as a one-two punch against the dreaded peach leaf curl. Misterbaby.

My So. Cal. peaches had no signs of disease at all for the first 5 years, then Peach Leaf Curl set in two seasons ago; the conditions were overcast and humid that spring, more than usual. So now I spray with copper dormant oil spray in the winter before the buds break. It helped a lot to prevent the leaf curl last year, but I forgot it this winter--hopefully, it will continue to be a dry and sunny spring.

Do you absolutely need the copper? Perhaps there are other treatments, but I've never tried them and the more experienced growers here have assured me that copper is the most effective solution.

Now,if only somebody can tell me what to do about those little pale moth worms that love to dig into my fruit and infest them around the pits. Experts?

Girlbug, liquid copper controls for peach leaf curl and bacterial leaf spot. Its use is safe and effective when used as part of a comprehensive pest control program. Do not use it when the tree is in bloom and otherwise follow the label directions closely.

Those little worms were likely left courtesty of the oriental fruit moth or the plum curculio, both of which can be controlled with insecticide as part of the pest control program.

Consult the extension service's website for a spray regimen that is suited for your area. Misterbaby.