i think it’s safe to call kris and odin’s crazy balloon peach decoy idea an unqualified success. last year i got to enjoy one peach and this year we have lots and lots of not decoy peaches!

as best as i can tell, the only difference is the balloons. seriously considering some small design changes for next near to make them a little more peach-like – smaller and peachier and a little firmer of a balloon so you can increase the air pressure so they really POP!

we’ve pulled about 70 or 80 peaches off the tree which is really incredible considering the fact that we pruned the tree so far back in the spring that i thought we wouldn’t get any fruit at all this year ( the typical recommendation is to not prune more than 30% of the tree and after not pruning for a few years we decided to take off more than 60% ).

i’ve had some people ask what type of peach tree we planted. looking back, i see it was a reliance peach tree, which is supposedly the most cold hardy peach available and definitely suitable for wisconsin and minnesota. it’s primarily considered a “canning” peach but i think it tastes Just Grand right off the tree. red havens are also cold hardy and i hear some folks claim they are better tasting off the tree ( hard to imagine how that is possible ).

to get the best of both worlds, i think we might try grafting a red haven on to our tree, although it looks like it might take some skill to get it to take.

any and all grafting advice would be mightily appreciated.

you see that smile? that’s odin’s “okay, really, poppi knock off taking pictures and lend a hand” smile 🙂