Green Houses Can Grow Peaches in Ireland

Of all the things I grow in my greenhouse nothing has proven to be such value for money as my Peach Tree

I purchased the Tree for around €20 back in 2006. Year 1 it gave me 1 huge and absolutely beautiful peach. I had worried originally would it struggle over the winter as was the case with my Lemon tree – which was a success for about 6 months but never recovered from a harsh winter. But I need not have worried – in countries like Hungary where Peach orchards are quite common it can drop to – 25 degrees in the winter and the Peach trees show no ill effects. If you want to grow your own peach trees and enjoy an abundance of juicy peaches in late summer then here are a few bits of practical advice on just what you need to do

Where to Plant your peach tree?

I planted my Tree on the north face of the path in one of my green houses  – so as to minimise the impact of sunlight taken from my tomatoes (which I sow South of my peach tree).

Do not plant too close to the plastic edge of your poly tunnel or green house- as harsh early frosts can impact damage buds which are touching the plastic

How to Prune:

If left to its own devices the peach tree will grow tall and wide. I have successfully trained it along a series of wires – which keeps it neat and also easy to access form the greenhouse’s central path.

I prune the green leaves and new growth heavily each summer around the start of June

This is done for a number of reasons including:

• To keep the tree neat and compact
• To allow the sun to get into the peaches to ripen them
• To allow me to see the peaches so they don’t ripen and drop off without my knowledge

The Fruit

I get my first peach each year around the 15 July. Normally we get about 80-100 large peaches on the tree, which is quite a lot but the greenhouse can support this size of crop.

Sometimes I pull off excess fruit on each  – but normally I just allow nature to run its course

The fruit is both larger and much sweeter than that you would find in the supermarkets

Feeding the Tree

I feed my peaches in mid spring, just at the start of the growing season. This gives the plant a good boost just as buds begin to break. I top-dress with poultry pallets around the base of the tree, this simply involves me spreading around 5 handfuls around the base of the tree in the greenhouse. After i rake over the soil to bury the pellets.

Watering

In a greenhouse watering is essential and every owner will have his or her own system of when and for how long to water their plants. I water early in the morning, with my over head sprinkler system watering is easy and just involves me turning on the tap and leaving it run for about 10 or 15 minutes for each side.