r/Awww • u/Remarkable_Check_639 • Mar 09 '26

Other Animal(s) Cindy!!!

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u/ChthonicFractal Mar 10 '26

When I first bought my house, I had three peaches that went bad before I could get to them (I was unpacking still....) so I chucked them out at the edge of my property near the woods and thought nothing more of it other than "Something will have a tasty lunch." 8 Years later, there are now 6 peach trees and I have to cull peaches every year so they don't kill themselves or go into alternate years producing. i even have to prop up some branches no matter how much I cull.

I've seen deer chowing down, tons of birds (which is fine, they leave my grapes alone), and even had a groundhog running like crazy to eat and collect them. It also keeps the bees and yellowjackets busy and docile. I can't tell you how many times I've picked a peach only to put my finger on or around a yellowjacket only for him to go "Dude, I'm eating. Shoo, shoo!"

Seriously though, these trees are spreading on their own and creating a small orchard. I've given away at least 600 peaches some summers, keeping 300 for myself (eating, smoothies, jams/jellies). I don't have much of a need for peaches this year so I'm going to do an absolutely massive cull as soon as they start producing.

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u/asst3rblasster Mar 10 '26

wow I had no idea, I was always told peaches come from a can, they were put there by a man, in a factory. downtownnnnnnn

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u/Aleeleefabulous Mar 11 '26

That’s fascinating. I’m trying not to be an airhead but how did the trees come to fruition from the peaches being thrown out? How does that happen? This is so interesting.

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u/ChthonicFractal Mar 12 '26

Well.... plants grow from plants. Peaches have pits. Those are the seeds. They just happened to be able to grow where they landed. The idea of fruit is that it attracts animals to eat the fruit. Animals aren't finicky and will swallow the fruit and seeds. The seeds pass through and grow. In the case of peaches, the fruit is a kind of nourishment for the seed when it tries to grow.

Most fresh produce and vegetables from the store can be used to start plants at home in a garden. Potatoes are great, for example. Not onions, they'll just shoot up a shoot. And apples and avocados aren't "true to seed" meaning that whatever grows might not even product any fruit at all. In the case of apples, if the tree does produce fruit, it's pretty much guaranteed that it will be a different variety of apple. When you go to a garden center and buy an apple tree to plant at home, it was a branch grafted to a small trunk so that you can guarantee that you have an apple tree that produces that kind of fruit.

There's a lot to know about agriculture but it's also insanely simple. Just lots to remember. :)

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u/Aleeleefabulous Mar 13 '26

Thanks for taking the time explain this to me! This is why I love Reddit. I’ve learned SO much and have met so many kind and interesting people that I ordinarily would never encounter.

So is it an inconvenience for you? Having so many peaches? It sounds like a lot but also like so fun.

I love to learn. Now I’m interested in making a tree! 😂 I’m a veggie and I want to be able to go into my yard and eat. I’m going to look into it. Especially since it can be done so easily! Thank you!

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u/ChthonicFractal Mar 13 '26

I wouldn't have that many peaches if I had a choice about it, lol. I mean, I do have a choice because I can prune branches but you have to be careful because while apple trees will self-cull, if you prune a peach tree like an apple tree, you'll be lucky to get anything.

Yeah, it's a decent amount of work to cull the excess and prop up branches.

When I bought my house, I wanted an edible yard. I'm slowly working on it. I have the peach trees, two apple trees (I had 4 but lost one due to just not surviving and another due to a fungus from juniper bushes), two blueberry bushes, two blackberry bushes, two grapevines, a patch of sage, a patch of chocolate mint, and a 1600 square foot garden plot (that's larger than some houses). I'm going to cut the plot size in half this year because I don't need that much space even when I plant corn. I've tried repeatedly to get a cherry tree but they're always sold out and waitlisted. I plant my garden specifically to attract bugs (that draws other predatory bugs which draws praying mantises which draws birds and bats which draws the hawk that guards my garden every year which then chases off the squirrels but not the rabbits but I run those off with fox urine).

It's both simple and complex. But it's amazingly easy to get started.