Local Fruit (and more local than you think!)

Brian Olszak

Casually leafing through my copy of The Holistic Orchard by Michael Phillips on a Saturday night (because that’s what Master Gardeners do, of course!), in the section on pears I came upon a particularly interesting find. While European pears, naturally, have found their way to the States from Europe, some pears are found in the wilds of America and cultivated for larger distribution. One of which is the Tyson pear, which was discovered in 1794 in a hedgerow on Jonathan Tyson’s farm in Jenkintown, just north of Philadelphia! This is particularly thrilling for me, having grown up not too far away from this location, in Willow Grove.

A quote on Tyson pears from the preeminent source of American pear knowledge, The Pears of New York, written by Ulysses Prentiss Hendrick in 1921:

An illustration of the pear in question from The Pears of New York

The tree is the most nearly perfect of that of any pear grown in America…. The tree is certainly as hardy as that of any other variety, if not hardier, and resists better than that of any other sort the black scourge of blight. Add to these notable characters large size, great vigor, and fruitfulness, and it is seen that the trees are nearly flawless. (p. 223)

That “black scourge of blight” he’s talking about is none other than fire blight, a particularly destructive bacterial infection to which apples, pears, and even crab apples are quite susceptible to varying degrees, depending on the cultivar. Affected parts of the tree take on a blackened, “burned” look to them, which can spread quickly.

The rub, then, is finding this supposedly delectable pear. After about an hour online research, I could only find two orchard/nurseries that still carry or have recently been known to carry Tyson pears--these are Fedco Seeds and St. Lawrence Nurseries. A lauded and seemingly popular variety in the early 20th century, the economics of large-scale fruit and agricultural production has shifted Tyson pears and many other heirloom varieties into near obscurity, but specialty fruit breeders and nurserymen still carry on the tradition--it's just a matter of finding them! Sometimes it's knowing someone who knows someone else who knows an upstanding nurseryman, but Penn State has a good list of nursery sources for fruit trees, including nurseries that specialize in heirloom varieties, here.  The search goes continues, then.

Everbearing Raspberries

Heritage Everbearing Raspberries

Sandy Grimwade

If you want a long season of delicious home-grown raspberries, you cannot do better than to plant a few canes of an everbearing variety. They will produce a large early crop on the previous year’s growth at the end of June, then start producing berries on current year growth in August and carry on until frost. Last year we had a few fresh raspberries on November 14th!

Heritage is a great variety that grows well in the Philadelphia area, but there are others that may do just as well. The canes don’t grow more than 4 – 5 feet tall and require minimal staking. A few years ago I planted 6 canes and now I have a “hedge” of raspberry canes about a foot wide and 8 feet long.

Everbearing raspberries require a slightly acidic, fertile soil, so they do well in this area. They also need good drainage. I grow mine in a slightly raised bed. Make sure they will get lots of sun, which encourages larger and sweeter fruit.  The best time to plant is in spring and the plants are not very expensive (about $24 for 6 bare-root plants).

Cultivation is quite simple. Books and articles about growing raspberries are full of jargon and make it sound complicated. Please do not be intimidated. In the spring, dozens of small shoots come up from below the ground. I thin out the weaker shoots and remove any that are outside the growing area – they sometimes appear a long way from the original plants. These fresh green canes will grow during the year and bear fruit at the tips from August onwards. The following year the bark on these canes will turn brown, and they will bear fruit along their whole length in clusters in late June. After they have fruited, cut them down to the ground to make room for current year’s new canes. It is easy to tell which canes should be left to grow and which should be cut down, as they are color-coded. “If it is brown, cut it down”.

I have had no disease problems with these raspberries, unlike some other varieties. The only problem has been catbirds, who seem to like the June crop of berries as much as I do.

Our Native Plants......Acelepias

Kristin Lacey

Question: What to Plant in Late Summer for Great Butterfly Action?  

Answer: Asclepias or milkweed.

Asclepias tuberosa, butterfly weed (picture below) loves sunny spots with dry sandy even gravelly soils.  For more information

  

Butterfly Weed may need a few seasons to reach full size of 36 inches tall. It is recommended to leave the old stalks in place so you don’t forget about them in spring while they green up.

If your potential butterfly garden in partial shade or sunny with wet soils? Then plant Asclepias

incarnata or swamp milkweed. For more information

   

To encourage butterflies to hang out in your garden as long as possible, provide food sources for the larvae (caterpillars) as well as nectar plants for the adults (butterflies). Here is a list of native butterfly plants for Philadelphia*:

*Marinelli, Janet, Brooklyn Botanical Garden All-Region Guides: The Wildlife Gardener’s Guide, 2008.

Host Plants for Caterpillars:

Aristolochia macrophylla, Dutchman’s Pipe

Asclepias incarnate, swamp milkweed

Baptisia australis, false indigo

Chelone glabra, white turtlehead

Eurybia or Aster divaricate, white wood aster

Passiflora incanata, passionflower

Rudbeckia species, yellow coneflower

Solidago rugosa, rough goldenrod

Vaccinium angustifolium, lowbush blueberry

Nectar Plants for Adults

Asclepias tuberosa, butterfly weed

Clethera alnifolia, sweet pepperbush

Echinacea purpurea, purple coneflower

Eutrochium purpureum or Eupatorium purpureum, joe-pye weed

Pycnanthemum muticum, mountain mint

Rudebeckia laciniata, cutleaf coneflower

Solidago species, goldenrods

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae, New England Aster

Vernonia noveboracensis, New York ironwood 

To learn more about planting for Great Butterfly Action check out these websites:

xerces.org/milkweed/

bbg.org/wildlife

monarchwatch.org

Drying herbs with your microwave

 



Michele K Koskinen

Gardeners are often frugal types that love to preserve for the winter the bounty of the summer. Drying herbs has been around forever. Historically, you would harvest the herbs and hang them in bunches to dry. The problem however, all herbs do not air dry the same way. When I began drying herbs I often ended up with brown tasteless leaves and not until I started tray drying in the oven did it change. I also found the type of herb being tried makes a difference. Some are better at air bunch drying than others. Dried herbs do not always retain their aroma, but will retain the taste for up to a year. I dry basil, oregano (several types), tarragon, thyme, mint, marjorum, parsley and lemon balm for cooking and a variety of flowers for crafts.  The method I use.........the microwave. I have found it easy and the herbs retain their color and taste on a consistant basis.

The trick to drying successfully in the microwave is to carefully monitor the process. (DO NOT USE RECYCLED CONTENT PAPER PLATES OR TOWELS AS THEY OFTEN WILL SPARK.)
Take the cut, washed and dried fresh herbs and place the stems of small leaf herbs (oregano, tyme, marjorum) on a paper towel or paper plate. Cover with a paper towel and hit high for 30 seconds. Check and continue the 10 sec check routinely until dried. Do not over dry. For large leaf herbs such as basil, sage or mint, bay you may want to remove the leaf from the stem and dry the whole leaf.

Let cool and the use one of two methods to remove the leaves. 1. Roll the stems with your palms to remove the leaves onto a cut piece of wax paper. Use the wax paper as a funnel to put into a jar. OR 2. Slide your fingers down the stem and the leaves will fall again onto the wax paper. Whole leaves can be put into a jar whole or crushed.

MARJORUM FROM LAST SUMMER

There are many resources on drying herbs and flowers. I got started with the Rodale Herb Book after finding it at a yard sale years ago. Today the websites for advice are numerous. Type in dried herbs or microwave dried herbs, and up comes hundreds of sites. Have fun.

Reblooming Iris....... Surprise!!!!!!!

Michele K. Koskinen

Spring Bloom with Huerchera

My garden has gone into the August stage of few perennials blooming and the fall look of foliage far too early. This has been a strange year for my perennials. Many bloomed too early and were finished by the beginning of August. Some did not look happy with the early heat and some I lost in the June storm.


But, a mid August surprise. Tucked in behind the "never die" Sedum and Coreopsis I have a beautiful Bluish Iris blooming again. Where did this come from? I then remembered getting a plant from a swap with another gardener last year. It bloomed beautifully in the spring I had no idea it would give me pleasure twice this year. It's fragrance is soft and sweet, and the palest wisteria and white with a pale yellow tongue.

Sedum and Coreopsis in fall

It is a breath of spring in the doldrums of mid hot August. I have looked high and low but there are thousands of iris and I have no idea the name of this beauty. Oh well, it does not matter I love it anyway and will look at replacing those I lost with reblooming ones next year.