Your Vanzant Peach Playbook: Grow. Prune. Sell

Meet Your Vanzant Peach Playbook

You want fruit that sings. Arkansas heat can help that. Vanzant Fruit Farms has lines bred for your soil and your season. This playbook gives the clear steps. Pick the right varieties. Plant with purpose. Start care that sets young trees for life.

Prune with a plan for size and yield. Fight pests and disease with smart, low-tox tools. Harvest on time. Handle fruit with care. Learn how to sell—farm stands, markets, and local buyers. Follow this guide and you will grow, prune, and sell peaches with real confidence. Make profit and enjoy the work.

Pruning Peach Trees: Simple Steps for Bigger, Healthier Fruit

Climate that makes sugar

You need to know your land. Arkansas gives heat, long days, and late warmth that pushes sugar into fruit. Heat ripens flesh fast. That means earlier markets and bolder flavor. A hot stretch can turn a good peach into a great one. Many growers I know saw a 10–15% bump in sugar after a week of high heat. Plan harvest windows. Watch color and feel, not just calendar dates.

Soil and how to work it

You face heavy clay. Clay holds water and nutrients. It can also drown roots and harden in drought. You must loosen it. Add compost and sharp sand. Plant on mounds or raised rows to aid drainage. Use a soil probe to test compaction. Install drip irrigation and a Rain Bird or Netafim kit for steady wetting. Mulch to keep roots cool in July scorch.

Vanzant lines and variety fit

Vanzant cultivars suit your season. They resist local heat and set fruit on strong wood. Choose varieties with later bloom to dodge spring frosts. Match rootstock to your soil — dwarf on mounded sites, semi-dwarf on heavier ground. Try two-week staggered varieties to spread harvest and cash flow.

Market appeal and heirloom niche

Buyers prize Arkansas stone fruit for bold taste and local story. Heirloom berries sell on that tale. They fetch higher prices at farmers markets and U-pick. Pack your fruit with a note: variety, pick date, and a short story. Offer sample cups. Use clear pricing and tiered boxes for wholesale.

You will grow fruit that stands out. You will sell the story as much as the taste.

Choose by microclimate and demand

You must pick well. Match varieties to your microclimate. Choose heat-tolerant midseason types for hot sites. Pick later-bloom types where spring frost bites. Add heirloom names to your mix. They draw buyers and tell a story. One grower planted Elberta and sold out two weekends in a row.

Firm vs freestone and market mix

Give buyers options. Firm peaches travel. Freestone peaches eat well. Offer both. Include 2–3 heirlooms for U‑pick and sample cups. Stagger ripening to keep your stand full.

Rootstock and spacing choices

Pick rootstock to match soil and vigor.

Space trees for sun and airflow.

Pollination and bees

Most peaches self‑fruit. Still, cross‑pollination raises set. Plant compatible bloom windows within 7–10 days. Add bees. Honeybee hives or mason bee boxes lift fruit set by 10–20%.

Row layout and wind management

Run rows north–south for even sun. Use windbreaks on the prevailing wind side to cut damage and sunscald. Leave access lanes for harvest and spray rigs. Aim for rows you can drive down with a 4‑ft spray boom.

Planting calendar (quick)

Next you will learn how to plant, water, and feed so those choices pay off.

Pick stock with purpose

Buy healthy trees or certified bud‑wood. Look for straight trunks. No girdling roots. No cracked root balls. Buy locally when you can. Local trees are acclimated. One Vanzant grower swapped mail‑order stock for a local nursery and cut first‑year losses by half.

Planting basics

Dig a hole twice as wide as the root spread. Set the graft union 2–4 inches above soil on sandy ground; at or just above soil on heavier clay. Backfill with native soil. Firm it down. No air pockets. Set depth right or roots suffocate.

Water deep and slow

Water slowly and deeply. Aim for root wetting to 18–24 inches over time. Use a soaker hose or drip system like Rain Bird or a good soaker line. In hot months give 10–20 gallons per tree per week. Check soil with your finger. Wet at depth, not at the surface.

Mulch and weed control

Mulch 3–4 inches out to the drip line. Keep mulch off the trunk by a few inches. Pull weeds early. Weeds steal water and slow roots.

Train and feed

Choose 3–4 scaffold limbs in year one. Tie them loosely to stakes. Prune to shape, not to force fruit. Feed with a measured, balanced fertilizer (example: 10‑10‑10). Follow label rates. Less is better than too much.

Guard young trees

Use trunk guards and wire cages to stop rabbits and voles. Check guards each season. Replace when cracked.

Berries and tidiness

For berries, stagger plantings by weeks. Keep plants pruned and clean. Remove diseased wood fast. Early care builds roots. Early care makes the crop.

Prune with intent

Prune to steer the tree. Make cuts that invite light and air. Open the center. Cut long shoots back to a short spur. Remove dead wood and crossing branches. Each cut has a reason: light for fruit, space for spray, less disease.

Step-by-step for mature peaches

Start in late winter when trees are dormant. Use clean tools. Stand back. Pick 3–5 strong scaffolds with wide crotches. Remove weak or inward‑growing wood. Shorten vigorous watersprouts to spurs of two to four buds. Thin crowded fruiting wood so peaches sit 6–8 inches apart.

Train young trees each year

In year one, pick three scaffold leaders. Tie them wide. Use gentle spreads. Bend long shoots slowly over weeks. Each year renew one old limb with a younger one. Wide angles make strong wood and big fruit.

Prune heirloom berries

Renew cane crops by removing old wood. For raspberries and blackberries, cut floricanes after harvest. Leave young canes to fruit next year. Lift plants off the ground with ties or wires. This keeps berries clean and easier to pick.

Tools and timing

Use sharp shears like the Felco F-2 for clean cuts. Choose Fiskars PowerGear if you need a lighter tool. For bigger limbs, use a folding saw such as the Silky Gomboy. Wipe blades with alcohol after disease work. Prune in dry weather when possible to help wounds heal.

Prune with purpose. Your cuts guide growth and size. Next you will learn how to protect that growth from pests and disease.

Watch weekly. Spot early.

Walk your rows once a week. Look at trunks, leaves, blossoms, and fruit. Watch for sawdust‑like frass at the bark base. Look for blackened blossoms or brown rot on fruit. Check for small dimples or soft spots on berries. You catch problems small. Small problems are easy to fix. One grower caught a peach borer tunnel early and saved a scaffold.

Traps and scouting logs

Use pheromone traps for borers and codling moths. Use Scentry or Trécé traps for clear counts. For spotted wing drosophila, use Scentry SWD lure in a clear cup trap or a yeast‑bait jug. Use sticky cards from Great Lakes IPM for quick checks.

Keep a scouting log. Record date, trap counts, weather, and damage notes. Add actions taken. That log will guide sprays next year.

Cultural controls first

Remove and destroy mummified fruit. Prune out blighted wood. Mow or remove wild hosts near the orchard. Wrap trunks or use sticky bands to catch borers before they climb. Choose disease‑tolerant varieties when you can. Clean tools after pruning infected branches.

Spray only when needed

Use integrated pest management. Set action thresholds from your traps and logs. Spray the right material at the right time. Rotate modes of action to slow resistance. Prefer narrow‑spectrum products. Use Bt for caterpillars. Avoid wide‑kill materials during bloom.

Protect pollinators and record everything

Spray at night or late evening. Stay off bloom. Use targeted sprays and spot treatments. Write down product name, rate, and time. Your records will save the crop next season and help you refine decisions year after year.

Time the pick

Pick at peak taste. Taste a sample. Press gently near the stem. Smell the cheek. If it smells sweet, it is close. Pick in the cool hours. Morning harvest slows rot. Harvest every few days as fruit ripens.

Handle with care

Hold fruit by the stem or cup. Do not drop. Use padded bins and vented flats. Clean containers before use. Use food‑grade crates or vented 16×20 flats. For cooling, act fast. Move fruit to shade. Use a CoolBot‑controlled walk‑in or cool chest with ice packs for small runs. Fast cooling locks in texture and flavor.

Sort, grade, and price

Sort by size, color, and firmness. Remove bruised fruit. Grade into premium and seconds. Price for value, not just weight. Charge more for ripe, fragrant, heirloom fruit. Consider per‑flat pricing for premium boxes. Example: a packed box of perfect Vanzant peaches can sell as a gift box at a higher margin than loose bulk.

Where and how to sell

Tell the story

Talk about your trees. Name a variety. Share a photo of a 10‑year old tree. Offer quick recipes. Let people taste a slice warm from the sun. Heirlooms sell on story and flavor.

Make small value‑added goods

Make few jars of jam. Sell chutney, canned slices, or slice packs. A neighbor doubled income by offering samplers at market. Keep recipes simple and clear‑labeled.

Track your math

Record harvest hours, labor, packing, and cooling costs. Track price by pack. Know your margin. Lean into local demand for Arkansas stone fruit and Vanzant peaches as you prepare to move into the final wrap of this playbook.

Your Orchard, Your Work, Your Reward

You can grow fruit that sells. You can prune to shape yield and health. You can market what you grow. Start small. Learn fast. Use this playbook each season. Test one block. Watch one tree. Keep notes. Use simple tools. Fix problems early.

Plant with care. Prune with purpose. Harvest with pride. Sell with honesty. Your work will earn money and trust. You will learn more each year. Customers will come for taste and story. Keep your standards high. Share your fruit. Begin now and build a small, lasting orchard that pays back well.