K...it depends on your soil...as to the importance of fertilizer. Deep and heavy clay-like soils are nutrient rich. Sandy soils need help. Identify your soil type and go from there. An all-around fertilizer never hurts during the growing season. How do you protect from birds???

Thanks for your reply. We have pretty rich clay soil here so maybe I won't need to fertilize as much as I thought. I haven't ever had a problem with birds yet. But to be honest the past couple of years I picked most of the fruit off to help the tree recover from the leaf curl. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with it but we have a LOT of ornamental berry producing trees and shrubs. Also around the time the peaches are ripe, there's a whole field of corn for them to pig out on. They seem to focus on those and leave my sweet stuff alone. (Knock on wood)

Kristopher

Kristopher
I fertilize light on peach tree about 2 pounds that one quart jar full fertilizer I use 10-10-10 premium grade fertilizer common name garden fertilizer label have photo veg. on it. I spread out with my heal to trunk tree that keeps off trunk.
Fertilize any time there no fruit on tree I start first bloom then nothing until after fruit pick off then prune and fertilize again.
Peach tree don't like wet roots at all summer are winter they need less water than most fruit trees 2 quarts water week if tree needs water, you get into trouble watering because rain can come on top your watering and kill tree.
Once you get strong tree structure, that hold a load of fruit you can cut back on fertilize to just at bloom this fertilize size up fruit to large size.

Does depend on the soil but a general maintenance fertilizer for peaches usually consists of about equal parts N and K with a touch of boron around here in the commercial peach trade. Peaches are relatively heavy feeders.

Most soils around here carry adequate P and it is not a good idea to blindly add it to the soil unless you've some idea what's there to begin with. It is a nutrient that in excess creates an imbalance by tying up other nutrients.

If you mulch trees- even with low N materials like wood chips, over time the soil provides most of what trees need in most soils. If tree is growing vigorously already, it probably doesn't need much help.

Thanks for your replies everyone. Maybe I will do a soil test in this area to get a better idea of the composition of my soil. Do you think that would be a good idea? I've never done anything like that and I think it would be interesting to see the results.

Kristopher