A bin of beautiful, canary-yellow quince.
This week we’re heading into the cold, wet weather – admittedly begrudgingly – with a few last harvest pushes still ahead. Varieties left out in the field are dwindling – we’ve got some Jonagold, Melrose, Galarina, and Enterprise apples left to pick, Uta and David pears, and some quince and kiwi berries (and come November, medlar). Leaves are turning and dropping on grapes, kiwis, and a few early apples. Hoping that the rains will let up after this week/next a bit to allow for some fall mowing and clean-up, but in the meantime we’re crossing our fingers that the rains won’t bring too much water to the area and cause any major headaches/damage.
Fruit/Bud/Tree Development
- Really pleased with the growth on the young Nanaimo peaches this year – they’ve grown tremendously and showed good overall color and vigor this year. Looking forward to seeing how they do in their first fruiting year.
- Lynden Blue grape leaves are fully yellowed and beginning to drop. Other grapes wont be far behind.
Pest & Disease
- Apple scab on recently picked Jonagold apples is certainly apparent, albeit not as bad as previous years. Jonagold is a difficult variety to manage organically for apple scab, and we always end up with some percentage of scabby fruit from those trees. Some of these we are able to sell as “seconds” quality fruit for processing/sauce.
- Seeing some black knot in plums from this wet year that will definitely require pruning out come spring. It’s a constant battle when there are always neighborhood trees around that also harbor the fungus.
What’s Ripe?
- This week we’re harvesting: Jonagold, Melrose, Quince, and Kiwi Berries.
A Nanaimo peach tree looking vigorous and healthy.
Kiwi berry vines at leaf fall.
