Thinning Peaches

Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison shows how to thin peaches. Peaches need to be thinned before the pit hardens. Once the pit hardens the size of the fruit is set and thinning will not improve the sizes of the peaches. To check cut through the middle of a growing peach. If the pit is still clear and watery, the pit has not hardened and it is a good time to thin. Fruit trees set much more fruit than they can grow. Properly pruning will eliminate some of that fruit before it sets. Thinning will take care of the rest of the excess. When pruning, picture in your mind how big you want the peach to be when it is ripe. Thin the branch to this size. When the fruit is full size, it should have room on the branch without touching another peach. Another thing to consider is that a small twig can probably only hold one full size peach without breaking, thin accordingly.

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