Friends:
Around here red clover attracts lots of gophers and
can kill an orchard. We are using newspaper and straw for mulch.
In response to how fruits are coming. Apples (gala,
golden, granny, ida, liberty) and pears (red sensation) set heavily and we are
having to do a lot of thinning (second or third round now). Damage is sunburn
from a couple of 112 days in May. Those are the ones we are mostly thinning this
go round. It's in the 90-107 temp range now. Drip irrigating 3 nights a week.
The little bites in the apples I inquired about
earlier that no one seemed to know about seem to be oak tussock moth nibbles
according to my new UC Apple and Pear IPM book. Apricots are good this year
(none last year) and orioles have eaten about a third of them (worth the price).
The rest are in pies, ice cream, the dehydrator (Excalibur: works fine but
has only one setting and doesn't shut off by itself), and people's bellies.
How are other people's crops coming?
Katy Meigs
Jolon at Last Farm
Central California
USDA Zone 8/9
Jolon at Last Farm
Central California
USDA Zone 8/9