Now that it is almost the end of fall, and most of the yard work is pretty much over, the biggest thing that I need to tackle for the yard is the planning for next spring. One of the things on my planning list is choosing the varieties of peaches I want to plant.

I have considered planting fruit trees several times since we first got our home, but each time I have gotten discouraged by the amount of time that is required in order to maintain fruit trees and yield a decent harvest. Part of the problem is that the different fruit trees have different pruning and spraying requirements. I would love to have many different types of fruit trees including Cherry, Peach, Apple, Pear, and Apricot. However, taking on the task of managing such a diverse home orchard, does not seem practical.

While talking with a neighbor about fruit trees I realized that if I narrowed my focus from multiple fruits down to one, it would eliminate a large portion of the effort needed to keep a small home orchard. Since coming to that conclusion I have narrowed my focus down to peaches. The reasoning is two fold. First there really is nothing like a really good peach, and second the maintenance requirements are fairly strait forward. By focusing on one fruit I can be more committed to ensure that they are properly maintained.

So now that I have chosen the type of fruit I want to grow, and picked a pretty good spot for two trees, I need to make a decision on variety. After doing preliminary research, I have two varieties in mind: Redhaven and Early Elberta. Luckily I still have several moths before I have to make the final decision. Any suggestions?