Fruit Harvest from season to season

[applestar]

Oooh, thank you !potatoes! I'll PM you.

[applestar]

...persimmons, figs, raspberries...

[applestar]

Wild and Alpine White Soul strawberries have started coming in, and Cherries! White Gold first, then Emperor Francis

The cherries are supposed to be trained into fan-shaped espalier... as you can see, I have let them get away from me I'm hoping it's not too late to cut those overgrown leaders down --- should I do this before or after harvest?





There is a robin's nest on the latch side of the gate in the Blackberry arch arbor. You can see the white blackberry blossoms starting to bloom. They don;t show interest in the white cherries but the red strawberries bear close watching and I will need to protect them with netting soon.

[JONA]

I would do them sooner rather than later applestar.
It will give the rest better light for next years fruit bud.
Looks like your going to have good feed through the coming months.

[applestar]

I spent all morning pruning the two cherry trees (White Gold and Emperor Francis) as JONA recommended, as well as two pear trees (Seckel and Magness) one apple tree (Arkansas Black), and one persimmon tree (Prok) -- all espalier -- as well as semi-dwarf Enterprise apple.

The persimmon was overgrown like the cherries and threatening to shade out not only its own branches but also the AB apple espalier next to it. The pear trees had developed some fireblighted branches, and JONA had recommended cutting them off as quickly as they are infected in another thread. They are also showing surprising number of cedar-apple rust spots this year. They are resistant, but I think it's the extra pressure from the new cedar tree my neighbor planted on the other side of the side fence. I will need to be more regimented about spraying them.

The Enterprise apple had a bunch of small twiggy growth that had wilted brown leaves -- I thought they are fireblight, but new growths have been growing way past the wilted leaves. I'm not sure if it's because Enterprise is one of the most fireblight resistant apple varieties, or if these were caused by something else -- maybe aphids. I went ahead and trimmed off almost all of the branches that had the wilted leaves, new growths and all.

Maybe the persimmon, but I think more due to when the Arkansas Black was blooming and having an unexpected cold snap with hard frost, the apple has only three fruits on it that I could find. I think the bees were not flying due to the weather.

On the other hand, MAGNESS is loaded this year. Very promising. Good number of fruits on the Seckel as well but not extraordinary.


Yesterday and today -- not a whole lot, but even so, my two DD's are actually already reaching the point of not finishing the day's harvest. This means DH and I get to eat some of the cherries, too. Extras will be frozen for cereals, baked goods, smoothies, etc. A few Emperor Francis were ready today.



I would have a lot more strawberries in my basket except something -- I think chipmunk -- has discovered the strawberries. And the idiot creature doesn't know when to pick them -- I'm finding dozens of bitten off unripe pale orange-red berries on the ground.

[applestar]

Cherry trees after pruning... (click to zoom)

[JONA]

Looking good Applestar.
Can you net it if you need to?

[applestar]

Between the mulberry which is located nearly at the opposite corner of the property beyond the house -- which is starting to ripen (red turning almost black) and all the wild and cultivated strawberries, only thing bothering these white/yellow cherries are excessive rain causing splits and that grey mold thing that I can't remember the name of. I'd say 1 in maybe 6 cherries are affected. Very rarely a bird peck but not taken as far as I can see.



So I don't think I need to net them. The cherries are almost all harvested as of today -- Emperor Francis cherries seem to ripen pretty close together.

I've pruned a bit more. There is long branch reaching for the sky that I want to stake down if I can....



It's the strawberries that need serious protection, though I don't mind sharing the wild strawberries -- they are June bearers, and although prolific, will dwindle in fruit size. Slightly larger elongated fruits are Sweet Charley, I think. Another June bearer -- that patch is being decimated by the chipmunk and/or vole nibbling not quite ripe berries. Netting doesn't help unless I can somehow tightly secure the bottom to the ground. (I may need to move them to a framed raised bed.)

The largest fruits I currently have are Seascape -- jut starting to ripen. I came up with a new method to protect them -- these clear clamshells. I cut a notch or two near the hinge to accept the fruit stalks. I have some that have ventilation holes and some that don't. So far so good. The heavy acrylic tube is from a broken birdfeeder. Not pictured, but I'm also trying a PET OJ jug with bottom cut off and a small notch for the stem.


About 4 ripe raspberries today. Temporarily put up last year's faded aluminum pan birdscares over the few clusters that are blushing. I need to get my DD's to draw and decorate fresh scary eyes and teeth, and hang them properly with string (I used grass seed stalks since that's what was available).

[JONA]

Your so lucky there Applestar.
We've a few cherry trees that we planted around our glasshouse as mainly decoration for their blossom. As a result we let them grow quite tall so we can't net them. The minute they start to take on colour......their gone!
We never manage to get one.
Starlings and blackbirds seem to be the major culprits.
The cheeky birds even get through the glasshouse vents to have a go at the peaches and apricots.

[applestar]

JONA -- Couldn't you at least protect lower branches somehow? Maybe net entire branches rather than tree.... That seems a shame. Any way to string or hang birdscares... or have the local birds learned about the seasonal bounty and won't be discouraged?


Steady harvest of the tiny, fragile, flavorful wild strawberries -- none of the patches are particularly big, some in full sun, some in shade, some even in dense shade, but results in slightly different harvest time. First to harvest patch has dwindled to what I call bird-size tiny berries the size of my pinky nails and I'm not even bothering to look there any more, but denser shaded ones are now producing what I call "the first berry" which is typically the largest fruit.

Also Sweet Charley are still producing though almost gone (Lost a large % of the Sweet Charley to chipmunk depredation of almost-but not quite full ripe berries until I started protecting them in clear clamshells, too -- but I found out the berries stop ripening or get cooked in the clamshell during the clear skies blazing sun mid-90's+ heatwave), Alpine White Soul, and Seascape make (and will continue) occasional contribution.

Occasional mulberries, red Prelude raspberries have been coming in. I need DD's to make more flashing and noise-maker birdscares and move the toy snakes and old black soaker hose piece "snakes" around more frequently.


-- see the lone cherry in the yellow basket positioned at an angle? It's an Emperor Francis that had been hidden undiscovered in the very middle of the tree. Look how red it is! I wonder if this means I HAVE been picking the cherries underripe? I'm going to try bagging them next year to see if that will protect them to ripen more on the tree.

Started to bag the blueberries that are showing color, but it looks like blackberries will be plentiful enough again this year as long as I bag the first berries that turn red to discourage the birds so the initial blackberry trusses will have chance to ripen to full black.

[applestar]

EVERYBODY likes blueberries!

Chipmunks and catbirds figured out they can enjoy the berries by chewing on them from outside of the mesh bag.


Netted the shrubs with DD's help on Sunday. Used the pop up hamper we use for keeping eclosed Monarch Butterflies to cover the Top Hat blueberries in the container.

[applestar]

Almost all of my varieties are bearing ripe fruits right now. I think 4 or 5 of them are represented here.
- Elizabeth (with the biggest somewhat rounded berries)
- Top Hat (small-flattened berries)
- Blue Jay? (Largest flattened berry)
- Low-bush wild species selected for larger fruit (larger round berries)
- standard Low-bush wild species (smallest round fruits)

[applestar]

Since I disqualified the 4 berries with sun scorched druplets yesterday, I declare these 5 to be the OFFICIAL first blackberry harvest of the season



...more to follow...


...this kind is NOT acceptable

[imafan26]

My strawberries are flowering again in July. Hey, better late than never. The lemon, calamondin, and kaffir lime have fruit and are flushing new leaves.
Now is the best time of year to get mangoes, tangerines, and lychee. Someone brought some nice Hadens and a bag of lychee to my orchid meeting.

[gumbo2176]

I only have one fruit tree left in my yard and it is an old fig tree that was mature when I bought my house in 92. I've had some great years and some not so great years of fig production from that thing. This is one of the not so great-----actually not so good years as the tree has produced very few edible figs this summer.

Last year at this time I was picking loads of ripe, sweet figs off my tree and having to get outside at daybreak to beat the birds to them. This year they are ripening at a much slower rate, not even close to sweet and production is way off. It is one of the worst years for figs I can remember since I've been in this house. There will be no fig preserves being made this year if counting on my tree alone to supply the figs.

Well, just like we say for the New Orleans Saints-------"Wait till next year."


Edited to add this: I checked on-line to see if I can find out how long fig trees can live and the range is pretty varying depending on which site I read. Some say 25-30 years and others say around 50 years. I know for sure my tree is over 25 years old since it was here and mature when I moved in my house in 92 and the widow lady I bought the house from is long deceased and she and her husband had no children.

So I'm just wondering if anyone has any first-hand experience or knowledge in this matter and can narrow the time frame down since what I've found on-line is so far ranging.