Shinseiki Pear

Two and a half years ago I bought a 4-way grafted Asian pear. It is advised that after the first year of planting, not to let it go to fruit. Last year, as soon as the flowers were done blooming, I plucked them off. I didn't want to be tempted by the little fruits forming.

This year, I had a fair amount of blossoms. But there were several that didn't make it. I managed to get about 8 pears total. Mind you, it is a small tree!

Not knowing how to tell when the pears are ready for harvest, I asked my favorite fruit farmers at the Columbia City weekly market. Jim, from Little Wing Farm, told me to wait until the fruit start to "glow" with a golden yellow color. He also mentioned to start harvesting from the tips of the branches and work your way in. I told him it's such a small tree, I only have pears on the tips.

I found it interesting that Jim also harvests the same trees several times through the season. He told me at first it takes some trial and error to figure out how ripe the fruit is. This year, I don't have many chances with just a handful of fruit. Hopefully it's more trial than error.

Today, I took a closer look at it. There was a pair sitting on the end of the Shinseiki graft. The fruit had a yellow glow to it and decided to take a chance. The two pears lifted easily from the branch--a promising sign! I placed them on the dining table to snap a quick picture before we dug into them.

That blur is my son's hand trying to swipe one from the table.

I sliced one and saved the other for tomorrow. They were sweet with a hint of tartness, and juicy without being watery. Good crunch and structure, too. Can't wait to see how the other compares, and how the rest of the harvest will be this season.

Fruit Trees

Give Seattle-ites an extra day of sunshine and watch them go crazy. The talk today has been, "What? I thought it was supposed to rain. Look at it! Gorgeous day!"

Quickly followed by, "It's not going to last. It's supposed to start raining again this evening."

I'd like to think the forecast is wrong and convince myself they have it all wrong!

Enough of the weather. Let's talk about fruit trees.

First, my 4-variety Asian pear tree is doing well. I'm hoping to get at least one or two pears this year. Last year, I got one fruit that I quickly removed. It's advised to remove all the fruit the first year the plant is in the ground. Once I saw the small fruit, I removed any other spent flowers. It would have been too tempting if I left any more to go to fruit. Here's a sample of this season's flowers in the afternoon sun.

All three espaliered apples are doing well. I have three tiers on the Nittany and two on the Honeycrisp. And I managed to redirect a side branch that I snapped off from one of the Nittany's (see the Oh Snap! post). Once it warms up a little more, I will tie it down to the wire...carefully this time! I don't want a repeat of last year. I also have more flowers this year. I think I accidentally pruned the flowering shoots. Either that or I sapped the tree's energy by letting them fruit the first year.

My biggest surprise this spring is the comeback of my persimmon tree. It didn't do much of anything last year. I didn't expect a lot, but I thought there would have been a little bit of growth at the end of spring and into summer. With our harsh winter and cool spring this year, I thought it was a gonner. I even called Swanson's about getting a refund. Then I looked more closely and realizes it's not dead. There are viable buds promising leaves soon.

I'll keep you posted on fruit production as the season progresses! Hoping for sunny skies from here on out!

Empty Space

There's the "right plant, right place" mantra of gardening. We've all been guilty of breaking this rule; getting carried away with the "gotta have it" specimen that has us drooling in the nursery. Before we know it, the back seat is packed with plants and we're headed home.

The pair of trees I had in my garden, Ginkgo biloba and Trachycarpus fortunei, were a part of my "nice plant, wrong place" syndrome. Both were planted a couple feet next to each other (not my doing!). The ginkgo was also too close to our fence. It would never have enough room to grow to its potential.

One of the great things about being a gardener, is you've got friends who garden and are on the look out for something cool and can always use another plant to add to their collection. I found a good home for the ginkgo--one of my coworkers snagged it. Since the tree was about 15' tall, in its new place there was instant landscape satisfaction.

The trachycarpus on the other hand was a little hard to find a home for at first. Then it dawned on me that my friend, Riz, would be the best person to take it. The size of the tree was a bit of an issue. It reached six feet to the crown and was another 5 feet of fronds. I invited Riz over to take a look and he was impressed. I felt like a match maker! After arranging the logistics, Riz successfully transplanted the palm to his nursery at Landwave Gardens in Shoreline. You can see the process here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er_dSVVnkq4. I'm thrilled that this fine specimen found such a great home!

So now what to do with all that space? I found a 4-way combo Asian pear at City People's in Madison Valley in February. Eldon has been asking and asking and asking for an Asian pear tree ever since we planted the apples for espalier. He actually wants an orchard, but settled on one tree since our garden is small. The 4-way combo was a way to guarantee pollination since I'm not sure if any neighbors close enough have Asian pears.



I have lots of breathing room for this tree, but I also now have a huge blank slate. What to plant? This may be prime space for my 'Rouge d'Alger' cardoon. I'm tempted to plant artichokes, but rumor has it that I'd be lucky to get a single choke. At least with cardoon, you can eat the stems of the leaves and the flowers are pretty to look at.

I will keep you posted on what I decide to plant. I'm hoping for as many edibles as possible. And stay tuned for pictures!