Re: [gardeners] Kieffer pear it is!!!
Lon J. Rombough (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Mon, 25 Jun 2001 09:58:03 -0700
Be aware that many winter pears, such as D'Anjou, will not ripen if simply
picked green. They have to spend time in a refrigerator - 8 weeks or so at
least - before they will soften and ripen when taken out.
One way to tell when a pear is ripe is to look at the seeds. Brown,
mature seeds mean ripe fruit in fall and winter varieties (Keiffer is a fall
variety, by deinition). When pears start dropping, it is another sign that
they are mature and ready to pick. Commercially, they use a pressure tester
- a device that measures how much pressure it takes to push a little rod
into the flesh of the fruit. When the pressure drops below a certain value,
the fruit is mature enough to pick.
If you don't cook Keiffer first, you might as well process it with a
chipper-shredder.
-Lon Rombough
Grapes, writing, consulting, more, plus word on my grape book at
http://www.hevanet.com/lonrom
----------
>From: "Seyfried,Alice" <seyfried@oclc.org>
>To: "'gardeners@globalgarden.com'" <gardeners@globalgarden.com>
>Subject: [gardeners] Kieffer pear it is!!!
>Date: Mon, Jun 25, 2001, 7:43 AM
>
>Well, I did a search on the web for Kieffer Pear and, low-and-behold,
>there's my fruit! They look exactly like the pictures on this site - the
>splotches all over, some more round, some more "pear" shaped. There's even a
>recipe for pear honey, so George, you don't need to dig yours out for me
>(unless it's different/better, of course). I'm so excited, I could jump!
>Now I just need to find me one of those pickers like they show here,
>because, of course, the most fruit is waayyy at the top of the tree.
>
>http://backwoodshome.com/articles/yeager52.html
>
>Now one more question, well, actually 2.
>
>1) How the heck do I tell when these things are ripe? All my ingrained
>training says to sqeeze pears, which of course, won't work with a Kieffer.
>
>2) The recipe for pear honey says to put the pears through a food grinder.
>We don't have a food grinder, but we do have a Victorio Strainer that we
>purchased just this year. Could I cook them first, then run them through
>that instead of grinding them first?
>
>Thanks again!!
>
>Alice - zone 5b-6
>seyfried@oclc.org
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: George Shirley [mailto:gshirl@bellsouth.net]
>Sent: Monday, June 25, 2001 9:22 AM
>To: gardeners@globalgarden.com
>Subject: Re: [gardeners] Re: Sunday in the garden [sic]
>
>
>They may be ripe Alice. I grow a Kieffer pear, it ends up round with a
>yellowish
>green skin and is hard as a rock when ripe. My folks always called them
>"those
>old canning pears." Sounds like that may be what you have. Pear trees also
>need
>regular pruning to keep them producing properly a little well-rotted animal
>manure around the base early in the spring when they bloom is also
>appreciated.
>If you wait for the fruit to fall off the tree it will almost always be
>rotted
>by the time it hits the ground. Check with your county agent about type,
>species, and pruning.
>
>If it is a canning pear I have tons of recipes for canning pears, pear
>sauce,
>pear honey, pear butter, etc, etc.
>
>George
>
>"Seyfried,Alice" wrote:
>>
>> 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
>