You guys in Maryland have it rough with regard to peaches (but not with regard to crabs). Here in California's central valley we don't have as many issues to deal with. My biggest problems are lack of water, extreme heat, and with climate change inadequate winter chill. I do have to do substantial green drop to adjust the fruit load. I have four backyard peach/nectarine trees, all of which bear fruit at different times of the year. Dealing with large peach trees can be a hassle and they generally provide much more fruit than a typical family needs. Three of my trees are genetic dwarfs so they only get about five feet tall. That makes spraying for peach leaf curl easy. The dwarfs are all Zaiger genetic trees - highly recommended. The other tree is limited in size though pruning as described in the attached webpage on backyard orchard practices.
https://www.davewilson.com/hom... I suggest that growing genetic dwarfs or performing the backyard orchard practices might reduce some of the labor involved with peach trees.
I've already harvested my early nectarines and have been checking my peaches for ripeness. Just a week or two away now. There is nothing like a tree ripened peach. Or try one bbq'd.
