bamabutterfly, Brown rot can spoil the fruit still after it is picked. You want to wash and separate. You want to discard all the unused fruit around the tree, as both brown rot and OFM attack peach tree shoots and overwinter there. Apply 1st dormant spray at leaf fall the 2nd spray at bud swell. Dormant spray consists of Volck dormant oil and copper for fruit trees. Use 'Fruit Tree Spray' to control insects and fungus.

thanks, ace...
can you explain what "leaf fall" means? Is that when all the leaves fall off in winter?
thanks.

bamabutterfly, yes, when the leaves fall off is the time when insects lay microscopic eggs in the tree bark for next season.
Your 1st dormant spray gets the eggs before they harden off. Prune your peach tree in late winter to allow light and air into the center of the tree. Make your second dormant spray at bud swell to get any eggs that might be emerging. These dormant sprays control peach leaf curl, brown rot, canker and many insect pests. Make a fruit tree spray application before bloom and right after. Thin your peaches 6-8" apart and install footies.

Can you explain the "footies" procedure? I've seen references to it, but I'm unsure exactly what is involved and how and when, etc.
Thanks

I myself install footies just on the late ripening peaches. The chore is too tedious for me to do all 8 peach trees. When the peaches are about quarter size I thin them out. I cut 2" on the footie middle open end so I can slip
over the peach and branch; tie like a garbage bag. I have got a squirrel that chews branches off in frustration trying to get the peach out of the nylon stocking. The squirrels got all the apricots this way. The peaches not so much now with the trapping and lead flying.

So are you just talking about little footies or knee highs? Do you just buy a pack of knee highs or footies like from Walmart or something??

Thanks for explaining :)

ps...when you thin, do you remove the 2 peaches on either side of one peach (for example)

Does anybody have a decent picture of a footie? I've read about them a lot here, but never seen one. Thanks, -Glenn

same here, glenn....I would like a little more info. if possible.
All help is much appreciated!!

Read lots of "footies" posts using the search function at the bottom of the Fruit & Orchard homepage.

Here is a link that might be useful: Footies

Here are some footie pics at the link below. I'd stick around but we are about to get hammered by severe thunderstorms and I've got to go get some stuff protected, like my pickup!

Here is a link that might be useful: Footie Pics on photobucket

Thanks Michael! Now I know what a footie is. I've been reading about them for a while, but didn't know what they actually were. Thanks so much!
-Glenn