Re: [gardeners] Re: Sunday in the garden [sic]

David G Smith (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Mon, 25 Jun 2001 09:22:29 -0400 

Some kinds of pears have to be picked green and ripen off the tree.  My pear
trees aren't bearing yet, or I'd know more.

David

----- Original Message -----
From: Seyfried,Alice <seyfried@oclc.org>
To: <gardeners@globalgarden.com>
Sent: Monday, June 25, 2001 9:05 AM
Subject: RE: [gardeners] Re: Sunday in the garden [sic]


> Eeek!!  No no no, please don't do that! I'm just a lurker, but I adore
this
> list, so I will pipe up with a question about my pear tree that I've been
> wanting to ask for a very long time.  I have no idea what variety it is,
as
> it was planted before we bought our house. It is healthy however, and has
> been kept in good shape. Every year it is totally **loaded** with pears.
The
> problem is that the pears never ripen. They seem to go from hard as rocks
to
> rotten. Now, we are not chemical people, and we're a bit lazy too, so
we've
> never sprayed this tree with anything. We live in central Ohio, zone 5b-6.
> Does anyone have any suggestions for why the pears don't ripen.  We are at
> the point that we are thinking of taking the tree out because it attracts
> wasps and bees like crazy. I'd put up with them if we could get some
fruit,
> but if we can't enjoy the pears, then the wasps can't either.
>
> Thanks!
> Alice - zone 5b-6
> seyfried@oclc.org
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: George Shirley [mailto:gshirl@bellsouth.net]
> Sent: Sunday, June 24, 2001 11:53 PM
> To: Gardeners List
> Subject: [gardeners] Re: Sunday in the garden [sic]
>
>
> There has been no gardeners mail for at least a week now. If volume
doesn't
> pick
> up soon we will disband the list for lack of interest. Come on folks we
know
> you're lurking out there. Is everyone busy gardening?
>
> George
>
> lneuru wrote:
> >
> > borrowing a leaf from George, here.  I have received no garden mail for
> > awhile, several days, I think.  Am I still with you?
> >
> > We went out today for another bout of weeding.  I have been
incapacitated
> > for almost 6 weeks but am more or less functional now.........and boy
has
> > the garden enjoyed it's freedom while I've been laid up!  So far 6
garbage
> > cans/bags full of weeds (too much to compost) and we are only about
> halfway
> > through a 50 by 150 yard.  It's been alternately hot, then rainy and
cool,
> > ideal conditions for the stuff in this climate (Great Lakes).
> >
> > We found termites in our pressurized lumber raised beds, one, anyway, so
> we
> > figure it's in more of them.  So much for making life better through
> > chemicals.  I'm sending Len off the Canadian Tire for lots of termite
> > poison. - we don't use pesticides but we are going to make an exception
> > here.  And we are going to replace wood with stone, just as soon as the
> > bugs are dead.
> >
> > We now have a red squirrel; he ate all the sunflower seeds in the bird
> > feeder, then ate the bird feeder.  They are very destructive little
> > beasts....all my high falutin precepts about wildlife and gun control in
> > cities etc.etc. are being replaced with dreams of h-bombing this
> > creature......add to that the skunk we had removed from under our porch
> > (2nd year in a row - she found the tiniest, moveable brick in the
walkway)
> > and the possum who has moved in somewhere in the back 40.  Aren't they
> > supposed to be southern creatures? So far no #$%^& groundhogs, but I
guess
> > they'll be next.
> >
> > What is happening up here is that we are just the tiniest bit warmer the
> > last few years, that and the animals are being presssured by encroaching
> > ciites.  We are and have been town for over 100 years here, but near a
> very
> > large railway allowance and a conservation area, and a big park.  So I
> > guess we look like the woods.  We have more wildlife here than we do
down
> > east on the farm where we *are* woods, almost.
> >
> > The weeding was somewhat satisfying, but I ached badly in the shoulders;
2
> > aspirin did nothing so finally resorted to hot water in the shower, full
> on
> > the bum shoulder, and that did the trick.
> >
> > So life has returned to good - another leaf from George.
> >
> > Lucinda