Is it time to prune a peach tree in 6a zone?

This is a copy of a message I have posted on Fruit and Orchard Forum on GardenWeb.

We still have a lot of snow on ground but I don’t want to mess up with pruning and spraying this year. Can somebody help me and tell me how much and where to prune? I know that all branches that cross each other should be pruned but how much and what else? I will post pictures on my blog.

Last year I couldn’t spray because if it wasn’t windy it was raining. Still, I had an excellent crop despite leaf curl. I need help with downsizing that tree!  

Where and how much to prune?

The Peach Tree

It looks like I will have to focus my attention on our peach tree. We bought our Peach Reliance (it can tolerate -30°C) 4 years ago and brought it home in a trunk of our Toyota Avalon and now it is about 12 feet tall. Last season it gave us at least 250 super succulent and sweet peaches. Very soon I will have to prune the branches and then spray with copper and insecticidal soaps, something that I just couldn’t do last spring. If it wasn’t raining it was very windy and because I couldn't spray I have paid for it with lots of curled leaf damage. However, the tree recovered quite nicely. I hate to cut the branches and loose all the fruit but it is basic maintenance that I just have to learn to be comfortable with.

After the peach tree I will slowly focus on starting peppers, tomatoes, Japanese eggplants, basil, etc. Two years ago I have build a cold frame so I could have an early. It can be seen at the end (1’: 25sec.) of my movie on this post.

Spring is just around the corner!

Memory of Summer.