Red Gravenstein beginning to ripen.
This week we’re getting a welcome break from dry weather to start the week. While rain can bring unwanted fungal disease pressure during summer months, it also provides a more even watering for the trees than drip can provide and reduces water stress during a high-water-use time for trees as they ripen fruit. After the rain this week, we will be deploying pest exclusion netting, weeding and managing canopy desnsities with summer pruning. Additionally, we’ll be working to prepare for Thursday night’s fruit tasting event!
Fruit/Bud/Tree Development
- Peaches, Aronia, and the earliest Apple varieties are beginning to enter into their final stage of ripening. These fruits are reaching full size and coloring rapidly.
- Grapes bunches are also filling out. Wet conditions this year have resulted in very vigorous canopy growth in the grapes which demands extra attention and hand work to prevent disease and ensure proper ripening.
- Strawberries are beginning to push new vegetative growth and send out runners following their post-harvest trim. June-bearing strawberries are mown to just above the growing tip and fertilized after harvest strengthen the following years production.
Pest & Disease
- We have some concerns about the spread of anthracnose and perennial canker throughout our apple plantings. These diseases are fungal and attack the woody parts of the trees. This is particularly problematic when establishing young trees as small infections can girdle the trees killing them. The cool wet conditions this year are favorable to the spread of these diseases. We are working to remove unmanaged sources of these fungi and applying protective sprays to prevent further spread but there are few effective tools for organic growers battling this disease. Anthracnose canker is primarily found west of the Cascades and is a unique challenge for growers in our region.
- Codling moth damage continues to be observed in apples and pears. We are hoping getting netting up (which will ideally happen in early June next year) will mitigate some of the damage caused by second generation codling moth.
- We have yet to observe much apple maggot presence in the orchard this season. Cooler conditions have likely delayed the emergence of apple maggot flies to some degree. This should hopefully allow early varieties to be harvested with minimal damage.
Peaches nearly ready to pick
A nice crop of Canadice grapes
Aronia Berries also nearly ready to pick!
