Peach tree

[ameno]

I'll definitely try oregano oil. That's more easily available. Do you dilute with water or some kind of carrier oil?

I've never used oregano oil, but with most oil washes or sprays you mix 1:10 with water, and add about a teaspoon per litre of washing up liquid to emulsify the oil.
At least that's for winter washes. You may need to use a lower concentration of oil if you are spraying the tree when in leaf, as 10% may be too strong and could harm the leaves.

[KJessi]

Thanks, ameno x do you use a winter wash and if so, the recipe? I bought a popular one you see everywhere, but initially I was going to use neem oil until I got told it was actually very harmful to bees etc regardless that it's winter.

[ChingfordHarry]

I hate to disagree with Ameno (because I'm usually wrong...) but from what I've read you use 5-7 ml of oregano oil in about 500ml (roughly a teaspoon in a pint, or ~1%, not 10%) for treating peach leaf curl (I read in a couple of places that it should be 5-7ml in a gallon - call it 4 litres, because those sources seemed to be American).

Here's one of the sources - Roots Plants come second on my list of tree suppliers...

https://www.rootsplants.co.uk/blogs/...nts-prevention

[ameno]

I hate to disagree with Ameno (because I'm usually wrong...) but from what I've read you use 5-7 ml of oregano oil in about 500ml (roughly a teaspoon in a pint, or ~1%, not 10%) for treating peach leaf curl (I read in a couple of places that it should be 5-7ml in a gallon - call it 4 litres, because those sources seemed to be American).

Here's one of the sources - Roots Plants come second on my list of tree suppliers...

https://www.rootsplants.co.uk/blogs/...nts-prevention

Well, I did say I've never used oregano oil before.
The figure I quoted was just for a standard winter wash using an oil emulsion, which is intended to kill hibernating pests (and it can also be used in early spring to delay blooming).

[Plot70]

Where do you buy oregano oil from?

[ChingfordHarry]

Where do you buy oregano oil from?

Health food shop, Amazon, eBay...

It's possible to extract your own (I'd guess with steam distillation) but probably not worthwhile - I think fresh oregano leaves contain about 3g oil per kg of leaves!

[KJessi]

It's amazing how powerful these oils are. Such a tiny amount needed.

[starloc]

I use about 5ml per litre of water, adding a tiny drop of dishwash liquid to emulsify it to the oil , oregano is great! , it has been noticed in recent years even though used for centuries for medicine, for example oregano leaf tea is a great antibiotic, during covid epidemic doctors noticed it could kill coid in your throat as it multiplied before the infection spread,
as well as on plants I use a tea of it as an `antbiotic` all the time , usually making an awful tasting tea of 3 teaspoons dry oregano, teaspoon of ginger, teaspoon of ground garlic, pinch of black pepper....works great for UTI infections , chest infections but is disgusting to drink

I have also used a tea made with of 4 teaspoons dry oregano filtered and added to a litre of water and used that for the peach trees, also for powdery and downy mildiew on grape vines

[KJessi]

Really interesting, starloc.

I have a prolific oregano bush that keeps spreading year after year. But I never use it as I'm not a fan! The Spanish seem to love it heavy on their pizza and it completely ruins it for me, so if in Spain, I avoid the pizza.

But reading your post, I'll try to re-educate my tastebuds somehow. And I'll definitely try it out in my garden.

[JoaoLeaftide]

Keeping them dry over winter is really the key. I had a potted peach that got leaf curl every single year until I started moving it under the porch roof from about November through to late April. Hasn't had it since. The oregano oil tip is interesting though, might try that as a backup.

[ChingfordHarry]

I had a potted peach that got leaf curl every single year until I started moving it under the porch roof from about November through to late April.

which is a timely reminder to me to move mine out of the polytunnel

[JoaoLeaftide]

A simple lean-to frame with polythene over it from January to May makes a huge difference, just keeping the rain off during bud swell when the spores infect. Doesn't need to be pretty, I've used bamboo canes and a bit of clear plastic and it's worked well enough.