Clark,
Based on that, mine should be ready by late Aug or early Sept, just like what @mrsg47 mentioned.
Mrs.G. Thank you for the scion.
@Ahmad - I will see if I could leave a few til mid Sept.
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Pictures please!
Here the two of three branches on Asian pears.
I don’t bag anything on my Asian pears so Seckels do not get bagged, either. I used Surround against bugs esp. stinkbugs.
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I’m impressed. As they say a picture is worth a thousand words. Hope you don’t mind a few questions. Was your first spray immediately after petal fall? Do you have a rough idea how many total times you have sprayed as of now (estimate)? Was any pesticides used prior to bloom? Just trying to get a better idea of how to do as well as you did. Thanks, Bill.
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Bill,
6 times this year. It could have been 4 if weather forecast was more reliable.
5/24/20 Surround+ Immunox + Triazicide (to finish up the bottle). It rained a bit after I sprayed.
06/06/20 Surround + Indar +Spinosad. It rained quite hard after spraying.
06/07/20 repeated Surround, Indar, Spinosad because of the rain.
06/13/20 Surround, Spinosad
07/04/20 Surround, Spinosad
7/26/20 Surround against sunburn on apples and pears.
I could have skipped the 06/07/20 or 7/26/20 sprays.
It is suggested that Spinosad should not be sprayed more than 5 times a growing season. I ran out of BT; otherwise, I use Spinosad and BT interchangeably for all kinds of moths and caterpillars. They are not effective with plum curculio. I just use Surround as repellant.
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Thank you.
Forgot to answer your other questions. Yes, these sprays started right after petal fall.
I sprayed Lime Sulfur on pears at shuck split for pear blister mites (still got some esp. badly on one Seckel branch). No other pesticide before bloom.
May need to spray Indar before bloom if blossom blight issue gets worse.
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@mamuang I added your spray schedule to a word document so I could refer back to it next year. I know this took extra time from you and I appreciate it. If I messed it up please point it out. Bill
Mamuang Asian Pear Spray Schedule
6 times this year. It could have been 4 if weather forecast was more reliable.
5/24/20 Surround+ Immunox + Triazicide (to finish up the bottle). It rained a bit after I sprayed.
Before Bloom
I sprayed Lime Sulfur on pears at shuck split for pear blister mites (still got some esp. badly on one Seckel branch). No other pesticide before bloom.
May need to spray Indar before bloom if blossom blight issue gets worse.
After Bloom when petals fall
06/06/20 Surround + Indar +Spinosad. It rained quite hard after spraying.
06/07/20 repeated Surround, Indar, Spinosad because of the rain.
06/13/20 Surround, Spinosad
07/04/20 Surround, Spinosad
7/26/20 Surround against sunburn on apples and pears.
I could have skipped the 06/07/20 or 7/26/20 sprays.
It is suggested that Spinosad should not be sprayed more than 5 times a growing season. I ran out of BT; otherwise, I use Spinosad and BT interchangeably for all kinds of moths and caterpillars. They are not effective with plum curculio. I just use Surround as repellant.
Bill,
This year, I’ve seen low activity on plum curculio. It is a blessing but I do not know why.
First rule from me, do not go with the date, go with observation when pests start to show up. I did not use lures (I should). I monitor temperature including night time. PC is active when night temp reach 60 F. I also check local extension service to see when common pests usually emerge (leaf rollers, PC, OFM, stink bugs, etc).
These are better indicator s than dates.
Because I bag most of my fruit, I am able to get by with 4-5 sprays. If I had time to bag all my fruit sooner, I may not need to spray in July at all.
Timing is everything. A day or two late, many or most fruit could be ruined before I could bag (ask me how I know !!) .
I know spraying harsh chemicals is far more effective but it is not my choice (tried Triazicide and results were mixed.). I am leaning more toward fruit that are more carefree these days.
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We have similar intentions but I’m not there yet.
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Bill,
To me, the two easy fruit trees are jujubes and persimmons. I don’tcount brambles.
Jujubes - generally small, sweet and crunchy. If you like apples, there is a good chance you will like jujubes. Just pick the varieties known for good taste.
Persimmons - American vs Asian. I like them both but adjust my taste accordingly. American - soft, mushy, intensely sweet and perfumey.
Asian - milder taste and crunchy. I love eating them crunchy than soft.
I don’t consider figs easy because I can’t realky plant them in ground without covering. Potted figs can be a pain from porring mix, to watering, to fertilizer. Also, I got some rust and scales on some figs this year, too.
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Picked my Seckel pears last week. Keep them on a counter and ate them today. This is my first year the two grafts producing fruit. They set fruit like mad. I thinned a lot out but there were a lot left.
My pears are small, some are very small, 2.5 -4 oz. it tastes as good as advertised. Sweet with smooth flesh. No grit. To me, it tastes better peeled.
The first 3 I ate measured brix at 17, 19 and 21. A keeper
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I have some ripening and tested one today after a chill period. Just as you described. Very pretty, easy to maintain and delicious. Also reasonably early, which is nice here.
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Mark,
Someone said Seckel does not need chilling. Lazy as I am, I just left them on a counter. Nice to know some good pears like Seckel and Harrow Sweet do not need chilling.
Euro’s pears ripening process drives me crazy. Have to pick them before they ripen, have to refridgerate them for certain amount of time, have to leave them on a counter for how many more days, etc., etc.
I don’t care to keep track of what varieties need 2 weeks, what varieties need 2 months in a fridge, and all that. Have suffered too many onternal rot of Euro pears to count due to bad timing.
I will only keep growing the good tasting, easy to care for, no complicated-ripening- process ones.
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When I first came to NY I would buy Seckel’s from a commercial grower near me- very small pears but sugar sweet. Like most growers around here he wasn’t going to pay his crew to thin the pears by hand- he did have them thin J. plums but not E’s.
Hand thinning is very expensive for commercial growers but I guess the Oregon pear growers must sometimes do it because Seckel’s coming from there are often the size of what I get on my trees when I get crop.
I have to say that it isn’t nearly as consistent a cropper on my site as Harrow Sweet, but where it gets all-day sun it tends to be a more reliable cropper. One thing it is consistent about is quality. Every year it bears it bears fairly similar very sweet pears.
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I like them because you can eat them unpeeled
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Mine got a bit scabby on the skin. It was not a pleasnt taste, a bit bitter. I have not problem eating Harrow Delight and Harrow Sweet with their smooth skin on/unpeeled.
@alan, this year was the first time it set fruit. And set fruit it did. I thinned tons off but stiil a lot left. I won’t be surprised if it goes light or no fruit next year.
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Not sure if everybody distinguishes between the original Seckel and Warden Seckel. Most of mine are roughly the size of a 25 - 40 W light bulb but I have some the size of a 60W.
That is standard nomenclature for pears, ain’t it? Any rate, I don’t know if any of my three branches are one or the other, but they’re all good.
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The two pears I have are Seckel and Chojuro. Last year I put them in grow bags in the spring here in Texas then took them up and put them in the ground at my place in Michigan in the fall. Both came back this spring and did well. Still too young to fruit. They are only 4-5 feet tall at this point. I have room for 1 or two more pear trees. I think I want to try Korean Giant. I like the crispness of Asian pears. I’m not sure what my 4th tree would be yet.
Since you are in zone 6 a, I would go with Korean Giant and Harrow Sweet in addition to your Chojuro and Seckel.
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