I recommend the cover crop, it’s worth the effort. After trying a few different things over the years, I’ve found planting in established strips of Dutch White Clover has been the best: it grows low, shades out competition, and keeps tall grasses from wrapping up smaller seedlings and breaking them under snow load. I just till 6’ strips, and hand-crank broadcast in the seed. Good soil-to-seed contact is important, but a roller makes that easy. A September clover planting should be ready for the following fall.
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Why not try it? It’s practically free if you have pears you can cut scions from. You’re in Switzerland?
Maybe I will try t-budding this summer or grafting next spring. I don’t have scions and now is too late to collect them but I’ll try for sure. It will be very interesting and no doubt a steep learning curve for me!
And yep, I’m in Switzerland.
Bob purvis lived for years in Alaska which makes him familiar with cold hardy pears. Here are some links to his information. This is what he grows and how it works in colder areas. Pears - Purvis Nursery and Orchard
"I started Purvis Nursery & Orchard in April 2008, shortly after I moved to Idaho from Minnesota. During my time in Alaska (1972-89) I brought a number of Canadian fruit cultivators into the U.S. via the quarantine system to test and evaluate for their suitability in Alaskan conditions. I maintained these in the orchards I later planted in Washington State and Minnesota, not just to observe how they perform there but also so that other fruit growers would have access to them.
The purpose of my nursery is to graft, grow, and sell trees of hard-to-find fruit cultivars (primarily apricot but also apple, pear, plum and cherry) that will survive and ripen in USDA Zones 2-6, for growers in the northern tier of states. My orchard, comprising approximately 1.5 acres, is being used as a germplasm repository for fruit cultivars for the north country and western Mountain states, as well to test the fruit cultivars’ suitability for the Treasure Valley. Purvis Nursery and Orchard offers scionwood of these cultivars to backyard fruit growers and also sells hard-to-find rootstocks in retail quantities. Since 1985, I have taught grafting and pruning classes for the general public in Alaska, Washington, Minnesota and now Idaho and also do orchard consulting for homeowners and top grafting for commercial growers. Now that the orchard is in it’s 13th season and coming into full production, we are selling fruit to the general public, concentrating on cultivars introduced by the University of Minnesota, the USDA-ARS, and the New Jersey apricot-breeding program rather than the more commonly available commercial cultivars. "
Aurora: Bartlett x Margaret Marillet cross, large pyriform fruits, juicy, sweet, upright to spreading grown habit.
Beurre Giffard : Tree has reddish new growth, willowy growth habit, precocious in bearing, blossoms with Summercrisp. Tree not hardy below –30F. Fruits are medium sized, somewhat pyriform, good tasting even when slightly unripe, sweet with vinous flavor notes, but keep only a month at best. One of the best of the summer pears, grown commercially in southern Quebec.
Champion : Russeted pear, seedling of Gorham, fine-grained flesh, very good flavor, ripens mid to late September in Idaho. Tends to shrivel in long-term storage because of a thin skin.
Comptesse Clara Frijs : Dessert pear from Denmark, 19th century, solid rugged hardy tree. Fruit size medium, shape oblong, yellow-green with a blush of red, rather thick skin. Flesh firm but not crisp, juicy but not dripping, flavor a cross of honey with vanilla. Tree very productive, flower buds hardy to at least -34F, fruit very popular at SW Minnesota farmers’ market.
Concorde: A British cross of Conference x Comice. Tree growth habit upright to spreading, moderate vigor, precocious, grower friendly, some resistance to fire blight, spurs up well, fully winter-hardy at –33F in SW Minnesota. Fruits are large with long necks, excellent sweet flavor, and keep till April in cold storage. Grown commercially in northern WA.
Dana Hovey: Possibly a seedling of Seckel, nicknamed Winter Seckel because of its sweetness. Fruit size is small to medium, intensely sweet, highly aromatic flesh, keeps till at least December. Spreading growth habit, ripens late Sept. here, good resistance to fire blight as observed in our 2016 epidemic. One of our favorites.
D’Anjou: Commercially grown pear for winter storage. Tree upright, vigorous, early blooming; fruit large, flavor mild and sweet, stores about 5-6 months in cold storage.
Douglas: Fruit is large, slightly tart, few grit cells, firm texture, excellent for canning, keeps well. Tree has upright to spreading growth habit. Flower buds hardy to at least -34F; tree is productive in SW Minnesota and very resistant to fire blight.
Ewart: Introduced in Ohio, 1928. Tree is precocious and very productive, somewhat more fire blight resistant than Bartlett, willowy growth habit, flower buds hardy to at least -34F. Fruits are medium sized, flesh fine-textured, melting, juicy, flavor and quality are excellent. Ewart will pollenize Bartlett and somewhat resembles it although it ripens 10-20 days later.
Harrow 604 : Somewhat spreading growth habit, well spurred, low vigor, very precocious, early ripening, fire blight susceptible, hardy in Zone 4, injured at -33F. Fruit has long neck, yellow, size small to medium, outstanding flavor, ripe early August in SW MN.
Harrow Sweet (Harrow 609) : Medium sized tree, moderately precocious, somewhat spreading growth habit, hardy in SW Minnesota to at least -34F, resistant to fire blight, very productive. Fruit ripens 3-1/2 weeks after Bartlett, yellow with red blush, sweet and juicy with excellent taste, keeps about 3 months in cold storage.
Honeysweet : Self-fertile seedling of Seckel, hardy to at least -35F, very productive. Fruit resembles Seckel being very sweet. Larger and keeps better than Seckel. Tree has spreading growth habit, exceptional resistance to fire blight, ripens about Sept. 4 in east-central Minnesota.
Hudar : St. Lawrence Nurseries introduction, tree is precocious and productive, medium sized fruits are yellow with sweet, juicy flesh, quality acceptable for farmers’ markets, size is medium in SW Idaho, where it typically ripens in early August.
Korean Giant (Olympic) : Flower buds hardy to -30F, very productive in SW Minnesota, large round fruits, orange-brown skin, tree is precocious under Idaho conditions. Fruit is juicy, sweet; I find it tastes excellent when dried.
Luscious : Medium sized fruits, good flavor, tree has somewhat spreading growth habit and sterile pollen. Hardy in Zone 3.
Maxine: Productive in Stillwater, MN; grown for roadside sales in Oregon. Fruit medium sized, pyramidal shape, good flavor. Tree is resistant to fire blight and a good pollenizer of other pears.
Nova: St. Lawrence Nurseries introduction. Tree is spreading, low vigor, precocious. Fruit is large, round, melting, and juicy, of good quality, and may be used either green or ripe. Tree is supposedly self-fruitful. Hardy to about -45F.
Paragon: Discovered by Dr. David Sugar at Mid-Columbia Research Station, Oregon. Tree has upright growth habit. Fruits are large, juicy, honey-like sweet flavor, one of our favorites, keeps about 2-4 months, ripens mid September in SW Idaho. Tree observed to be susceptible to fire blight in 2016.
Parker: a 1934 introduction by the U of MN. Medium to large yellow fruit with red blush, fine-grained sweet flesh but does not keep well, susceptible to fire blight.
Patten: U of MN introduction, very large, pyriform fruit, ripe late Sept., good flavor but should be picked 1 week before tree-ripe for best flavor. Good for eating but only fair for canning. Some resistance to fire blight
Stacey: St. Lawrence introduction, very sturdy tree, hardy in USDA Zone 2, tree is productive. Fruit size medium, sweet, but needs to be picked before fully mature. Keeps for about a month. Popular with customers at the farmers’ market in SW Minnesota.
Savignac: as grown in central WA, tree is spreading, low to medium vigor, precocious, hardy in zone 2. Fruit ripe about Sept. 10-15 in central WA. Sweet, juicy, size medium to large, coarse flesh, few grit cells.
Sierra: Seedling of Bartlett x Marguerite Marillat, introduced at Summerland, B.C. in 1969. Tree is medium sized and cold hardy, bears early and heavily. Fruit is very large, long pyriform, light green, somewhat irregular in size and shape. Flesh is medium tender, very fine and melting; flavor is very good. Ripens a few days before D’Anjou and keeps till January.
Summercrisp: Tree is upright to spreading, fairly precocious, and very well spurred, an excellent pollenizer for early-ripening pears. Good resistance to fire blight. Fruits medium sized, best eaten when crisp. Hardy well into Zone 2.
Ubileen: Tree is upright to spreading, flower buds not hardy below about -25F. Fruits large, very flavorful and of high quality, ripens early August and keeps about a month. One of the best pears in the Corvallis collection, precocity is average.
Vermont Beauty: Tree medium to large, hardy in Zone 4, extremely productive. Fruit lemon yellow, flesh yellow-tinged, melting, smooth, dense, fine-grained and juicy. Ripens before Seckel, keeps 8-12 weeks. Highly resistant to fire blight during blight epidemic here in 2016."
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Clark
How many varieties on Bob Purvis’s list you grow?
I only have 6 after removing Harrow 604 ( very slow growth) and Douglas ( did not care for fresh eating).
I have a graft of pear labeled Honey, not sure if it is Honey Sweet. No fruit yet.
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Currently growing 11 of them and have removed most of the others. Douglas is a reliable producer for me. It is not as sweet as harrow sweet or some of the others. On a good year here douglas is very good. It is a pear that does better in full sun. It is more that way than any other variety i grow. It is not in the class of clara frijs or comice or warren. There are 3 on the list i have not ever tried. Further north fireblight and other diseases are typically not the problem they are further south due to colder weather longer.
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