Is Peach Wood Safe?

[ddave]

Yes, he does.

Dave

 

[gnubee]

It is a great smoking wood when cured. I always ask the people I get it from how old the tree is. There are still some 100 year old peach, cherry, Apple and Apricot trees around here that were around back in the DDT, Captain and Seven spray poisons era. DDT has a 500 year Half life as does Captain and Seven. These poisons have been banned since the 1960s. So I make sure any wood i get from orchards is from younger trees. If I am the least bit suspicious I de-bark it. Not hard with peach. It is only the very large branches and trunks that have even the remotest possiblility of residual poisons in them but the danger is still there however remote.
For the most part I follow the Orchardists around and with their permisson I pick up free peach wood off of the ground. Most farmers won't let you have pear wood because of the danger of spreading fireblight around.

I split the fruit woods, stack it loosly so the wind can blow thru it and let it cure for a whole season. Then its perfect.