Fighting the Blight

  Years ago, two pear trees were planted alongside of the back deck.  I figured since the deck was raised a good bit from the ground, it would make things much easier come pear-picking time.  It did and all was good for years and years.  Although the squirrels ate their share of the fruit, I still had plenty to can each year.  Thankfully, I still have a good number of jars on the shelves because the harvest for this year looks to be a mite bleak.  The trees have taken a beating from weather related events and, now, have suffered another blow.  Fire Blight has somehow been introduced to the Bayou area.  This does not bode well for the fruit trees that did not suffer from the harsh winter blast in January.  The citrus trees were severely damaged then and now the pome trees are facing trouble.

  Fire Blight is one of those sneaky bacterial infections that often goes unnoticed until it is too late.  In the beginning, we assumed that the new leaves on the pear trees were just "burned" by the late freeze.  They became withered and charred. This soon spread throughout even the newer budding leaves and caused to trees to drop every blossom.  It was time to research what was happening to the poor trees and, wow, what a devastating thing it is.  Very few trees will survive without immediate and extensive treatment.  Mark and I worked hard to do what was needed but I still have doubts that we will save the trees or keep the bacteria from spreading to the nearby fruit trees.  It is a saddening thing to witness the struggle.

  Our focus now is on protecting the other fruit trees from becoming infected.  Every last leaf from the pear trees is being destroyed.  We have pruned the poor trees beyond belief and have raked, gathered and destroyed all clippings, dead leaves and even mulch around the trees.  We were told to "disinfect" the trees, surrounding area and "hiding spots" of bacteria with a bleach-type solution.  Hopefully, this will work.  If not, it will take years to replace all of the fruit trees that we had hoped would provide during our late years.  Starting over at this age is difficult as our energy levels are sure not what they used to be!  Still, we shall fight this blight!

Too Many Pears!

   Pears.  Lots of pears.  Too many pears.  About 12 years ago, I planted two pear trees...one on either side of the back steps.  My thinking was that being near the small back deck would make picking the fruit easier.  (Sometimes, I do have brilliant thoughts and this was one of them!)  Happily, the trees have done extremely well and have always produced plenty of fruit for us despite the fact that every critter around here seems to think the trees are their personal diners.  About half of the pears are eaten before they are allowed to ripen.  This, however, is probably not a bad thing as the trees are always overloaded.

  This year, despite hundreds (literally) of pears being eaten by critters, there were far too many on the tree.  The branches drooped pathetically under the weight of the heavy fruits and then...crack!...one limb snapped.  Two days later, another broke.  I called for an "emergency" thinning of the pears and Son came to my rescue.  Bucket after bucket of pears were handed down from the ladder then the rooftop.  So many pears!!!

  Now that about a third of the pears have been picked, the trees look a lot happier but my kitchen does not.  Something will have to be done with the fruit and I am not relishing the hot job of canning.  It seems that nobody wishes to be donated a bunch of pears.  Have pears become that proverbial hard-to-give-away zucchini?   I guess canning will be my chore for the next couple of days then again when another batch are picked.  Too many pears!!!!  Way too many pears!

Snow White...Pear Blossoms!

   For the past month, we have had just about every "false" spring that could be dumped on a place.  We have even had a few "false" summer days added for good measure.  Now, however, Mother Nature has said "Enough of that!" and plans for us to have a winter weekend.  This is not good!  All of the citrus trees already have tiny fruits set and the pear and plum trees are in full bloom!  What are you thinking, Mother Nature??  I guess tomorrow will find me lugging those potted house plants back into the greenhouse and finding enough things to make temporary covers for the tomato, squash and pepper plants in the garden.  Yep, I did do that.  I planted far too early but the temperatures being in the 80s convinced me that our cold times were over.  Not so.

  So...winter is not over until Mother Nature makes up her mind and there is not a thing we can do about it other than accept it.  Mom always warned Pop about planting too early..."You know we are going to get that Easter freeze..." I can hear her now reprimanding me for the same thing.  I am far too like Pop and the older I get, the more that is evident.   Easter freeze???  Does that mean that this is not our last cold spell for the season?  Easter is still weeks away!

One Pound Pears!

  Just off the back porch, there are two pear trees...one on either side of the steps.  The trees have been there for ten years or there about so they are getting quite large.  In fact, Son had to trim the limbs this past year because they were too large.  I figured that may have put a damper on us getting any pears this year but the trees were loaded.  Then, along came squirrels and coons. They feasted upon the unripe pears before moving on to the muscadines and figs.  Still, dozens of pears hung on the trees.  It gave me hope that I would have some to can for the winter.  This past week, Son helped me pick the pears and two dozen jars were canned and put on the shelf.  The peels and cores provided enough juice to make a half dozen jars of pear syrup that was added to the shelf, as well.  Not much goes to waste.

  While I was happy to get any pears at all, what surprised me was the size of the fruit.  Anjou pears normally weigh about a half pound each.  We did have a few that size but the majority weighed about a full pound!  One pear filled both hands!  This made for some easy canning, to say the least. 

  One thing come to mind about the large fruit.  Perhaps the proximity to the porch had something to do with it.  I have a habit of never putting any kitchen scraps in the garbage can.  Instead, everything goes to the compost pile.  Well, almost everything.  If there is only a tiny amount of scraps, I have a habit of dropping it off the porch near the pear trees.  We have two box turtles that feast upon these few tidbits but sometimes they do not come to eat.  I also have the habit of emptying all coffee grounds near the trees. The scraps and daily coffee grounds are the only fertilizer the trees ever receive.  Perhaps my laziness about traipsing to the compost pile has proved to be a boon for the pear trees!  Something worked anyway!

Late Summer Beauty

   The entire spring and first part of summer was extremely rainy.  It rained so much that our hill was even starting to get a bit mushy which is strange since the water runs right off into the Bayou or Bay.   Still, the gardens had standing puddles and that rotted the plants at the roots.  Most of the summer garden was a bust.  I got enough tomatoes to restock our supply of jars of sauce and catsup so all is well.  We can stretch the pickles for another year since the cucumbers succumbed to the root rot.  Regardless, those months were good since the rain kept it a bit cooler.  Then came SUMMER!  I knew the weather was going to take a swing in the other direction and made preparations by not planting a late garden.  Watering it would have just been too much.  So now the veggie patch sits empty.

  Still, other plants are doing well regardless of the dryness.  Most "in-ground" plants can adapt, especially trees.  Their roots are deep enough that it takes an endless drought to do damage.  Their adaptability was shown this morning.  We had a good soaking rain yesterday evening complete with lots of lightning.  It was that rain that did the world of good for the trees.  This morning, I found where the pear trees were trying to bloom again!  One rain and out popped blossoms.  I have come to expect this as it happens almost every fall.  Not much will come of the blossoms as their season is over but that does not keep the trees from trying.  If nothing else, the trees add a bit of beauty to a yard where other flowers are starting to wane.

For The Want Of Ladybugs!

  For the past few days, I have noticed tiny bugs dropping from trees near the back porch.  At first, it was hard to distinguish these from the pollen and blossom drop from the black gum trees and oak trees. Since the every bit of the porch, Frog Pond and back yard is covered with the greenish yellow pollen, it was difficult to even find the minuscule greenish yellow bugs.  BUT...they were there!  As I worked in the gardens, I would find the little rascals crawling on my shirt, in my hair and even in Ms. Nycto's long black fur.  The cat did not seem to mind but I did!  What were these things and where were they??  

  This morning, I found them.  The two pear trees that flank the back porch were literally crawling with things.  Ugh!  Every leaf, blossom, twig and new shoot was mounded over with bugs.  At least this gave me a closeup view of the critters without them crawling on me.  Aphids!  Millions of aphids!  Aphids everywhere!   Actually, these are green peach aphids.  Stupid aphids!  These are pear trees!  Ok, time to attack the critters that were attacking my trees.

  Since I am not one to douse every plant with some harmful chemical, I had to come up with a more earth friendly spray that would eliminate the bugs but not harm the birds, the cats and, well, me!  While Son repaired the sprayer, I pondered the situation.  It was not long before a solution was found.  The sprayer was filled with a combination of water, dish soap and apple cider vinegar.  The dish soap is a "clean" (pun intended) brand that does not cause problems in the garden.  It would make the vinegar stick to the critter and hopefully kill it.  

  Son volunteered to soak the trees.  He hopped up on the porch rail and started shooting the stuff at the tree.  The stiff south wind aided him in his quest.  The trees were soon covered in what Son was calling "Easter Egg Goop".  (Anything that smells like vinegar reminds him of dying eggs as a kid.)  Once he finished the job, he asked me to spray him.  Hundreds of the little critters were crawling on his shirt.  Since the spray was also "people friendly", I obliged and he soon smelled like an Easter Egg himself!

  The mixture did work and most of the aphids are dead even though they are still plastered to the leaves.  Tomorrow, Son will mix another fine blend and repeat the process.  Hopefully, a million or so aphids will bite the dust and my pear trees will be happier.  I know I will be!  Where are those ladybug swarms when you need them??