Peaches? But I Have Heavy Clay Soil...

     I have searched for a particular variety of peach for a few years. Until this year I was unable to find what I wanted and had almost given up. As luck would have it, or good fortune, I found red globe peach trees at a garden center and nursery along the main highway through Springtown, Texas. I would have purchased more than the two I brought home, but I wanted three varieties of peaches to stretch out the harvest and to cross pollinate each other. I also wanted two variety of apples and a self fertile persimmon (I bought Fuyu variety). Peaches are in fact self-fertile in many cases, but when cross pollination happens there are heavier yields on all of the trees.

    However, in my yard, which is about to become a fruit orchard, the soil I have is a heavy clay soil. Peaches do not like their roots to be wet, and in poorly drained soils such as the one in my yard root rot will set in. The only solution that seems feasible, although a bit of an investment, is to provide the soil peaches prefer. The good news is semi-dwarf size peach trees can be grown to maturity and do well in a planter bed that is 48 inches x 48 inches, constructed from 2x12 lumber, and filled with a high compost soil. An important note, do not use treated lumber with food crops of any kind. Yes, the untreated lumber will rot in a few years, but I only need the raised beds to function for about 1 winter.

    As more raised beds are set in place, and the remainder of the trees (peaches and apples so far) planted in the beds there will come a point where I will bring in ideal topsoil by the 10 yard dump truck load and fill in between the trees to raise the soil in my "orchard" so that there is plenty of room for roots to grow and ground cover to flourish. Pictured below is the red globe peach tree I planted after work this evening. Below the picture is a list of the materials used to construct what is shown. 

    The total cost of what is pictured (including the tree and the raised bed) is about $150.00. On average a mature semi-dwarf peach tree will yield 3-4 bushels of peaches that weigh about 48 pounds per bushel. Once mature, in an average year, the yield would be approximately 144-192 pounds, and represent a cost between 78 cents to $1.04 per pound. After that year, the cost of planting a peach tree in a planter box of ideal soil is no longer relevant. The return on investment is likely justified, especially if you like peaches. 

Raised Bed Frame:

• 4 each untreated 2x12x48 inch Douglas Fir 
• SPF or SYP would work fine
• I had the lumber yard cut 2 each 96 inch 2x12s to 48 to simplify this step
• 16 each 4 inch long decking screws
• star bit heads work better than Phillips heads

Soil to Fill Raised Bed:

• 8 each 2 cubic foot bags of organic compost
• 1 each 3/4 cubic foot bag of compressed peat moss
• 1 cubic foot of pine shavings
• Directions:
• Mix above ingredients until evenly distributed 
• Dig a well in the center of the raised bed twice as wide as the root ball from the tree (root ball in a plastic nursery pot)
• Remove the tree and it's root ball from the plastic nursery pot and place in the well.
• You want the root graft to be a couple inches above soil level because this soil will settle a little over the next few days and a few rain storms.
• Planting too high is not nearly as detrimental to the tree as planting too deep due to the risk of root rot.
• Fill the well in by hand, not with tools, and slope the soil away from the root ball.
• Mulch with pine shavings (remainder of the bag of pine bedding) or another organic material such as bark. 
• Do not use rubber or dyed mulch. 
• If you use cocoa bean shells understand those are toxic to dogs, and dogs will eat the shells as often as they get the chance.
• Be sure to not pile mulch up against the trunk of the tree and create a well as seen in the picture.
• Use a watering can or a gentle sprinkle nozzle from a hose and water the tree in well. 
• About two or three gallons should do the trick.
• Just be sure to water at the base of the tree and out to the outer edge of the well to settle the soil around the root ball.
• Add (not pictured) a few stakes for support but be sure to follow the recommendations of the Texas Master Gardeners program from the Texas A&M AgriLife extension service. A link to the article is found here.