Pear Harvest



We have two old pear trees that were here when we bought the place. One a William variety I think and the other a Beurre Bosc. The second year we were here there was a massive crop. However they were all infested with coddling moth. The next year a smaller crop and I tried various things to defeat the coddling moth to no avail. Earlier this year an old local gardener published a remedy for coddling moth in the Eugowra news. Quite simply it involves mixing treacle or molasses with wine and putting this mixture in traps made of old soft drink bottles in the trees when they are flwoering. I did this and later on put fruit fly excluding bags on the fruit as we only had a very small crop due to the drought.
Two weeks ago I picked three dozen perfect William pears with no coddling moth!
They tasted terrific. Lets hope for a bigger crop next year.

Comments

Chartreuse said…
I've been reading about your garden progress with great delight. Your experiences remind me of the very first garden I ever planted, in the Tasmanian midlands more than 30 years ago. I moved to Queesland 10 years later, but still often wonder if my successors there kept up the garden, which had the best fruit and vegetables I have ever grown, thanks to bottomless topsoil and a large river providing year-round water. Keep up the good work.
April 9, 2010 at 12:03 AM
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