Meet Katie Amaral

Katie Amaral (right) of Dave Wilson Nursery

There she is. To your right. That, my friends, is Miss Katie Amaral. And that is your's truly to the left of Katie. This photo was snapped about two weeks ago. For the people that I work with day in and day out at the California State Capitol, you might recognize this as the entry room to the Governor's Office on the first floor of the State Capitol Annex.

That's where I would find Katie Amaral on this fine day. And, although we've known each other for years, this was the first time we actually met in person. Katie and I have been corresponding with one another via email for years. Oh -- nothing to worry about. Nothing insidious here. Yes, the wife that is Venus knows all about Miss Katie. As it turns out -- all three of us share a love for fruit trees.

And, if you love fruit trees as much as we do, Katie happens to hold down the dream job of Marketing Manager for Dave Wilson Nursery in Hickman, CA. They just happen to be the largest provider of fruit trees on the planet. Want to parlay about pluots? Talk to Katie. In pursuit of peaches? You need to see Katie. Compare notes about Nectaplums? See Katie Amaral.

Mark Stromberg

Katie's visit came at an opportune time. That was a rather tough week two weeks ago when this photo was taken. It's been a rough couple of weeks since then. I suppose this reaction is quite normal when a brother-in-law suddenly and surprisingly passes away. And that's exactly what Mark Stromberg did on March 12th. He had just turned 42 years old. He died from triple organ failure.

I know what you're probably thinking. How does an otherwise healthy 42-year old man suddenly and unexpectedly pass from triple organ failure? It's the same question the family is asking. You see, we don't know. We're not doctors. But we are hoping the Sacramento County Coroner can find the answer. Yet -- these types of investigations take time. Autopsy results are still pending.

Venus and Barky

I still don't know how Venus has managed to maintain the strength she has. She was the first one with her brother when they brought him into the Sutter General emergency room, very much unresponsive. Although I would join her later as we sat outside the room Mark was in, there wasn't much we could do other than hold one another after Mark's heart stopped beating again and again. We could hear the monitor code. We saw emergency room physicians and nurses rushing in and out. There was little else we could do.

The wife that is Venus is now the last surviving member of a family of four. She lost both her mother and father to cancer. And now she's lost her baby brother -- Barky she would sometimes call him. Somehow she has to deal with his. The only thing I can do at this point is be here to support her, in whatever she may need.

So you can imagine how I felt that day when Katie Amaral messaged me to say she was in the Governor's Office. I couldn't get out of my State Senate chair quickly enough. I needed the distraction from the thoughts going through my mind about my brother-in-law and how things could have gone so horribly wrong. Katie offered that distraction -- and I can't thank her enough for it.

Backyard Orchard Culture Pear Trees

You see, Katie is responsible for many of the fruit trees growing in the Bird Back 40. There wouldn't be a five-in-one Pride Peach Collection without her help. The Harrow Delight and Blake's Pride pear trees also found their way into a raised bed thanks to her efforts.

To be honest -- I haven't felt like doing a whole lot since Mark's passing. Working in the yard does provide some relief, but it's just an escape from the reality of this thing called life. At some point I have to get back to living life. That's been a tough assignment. How can I possibly blog about heirloom tomatoes when this is hanging over my head?

Celina Marie and Marquitos Stromberg

Mark leaves behind a wife and two children. Our niece and nephew now have to face the reality of growing up without a father. That's not easy. I remember how I felt when my mother told me that my father had passed away in the hospital. I was nine years old. I grew up without a father. You can grow up without one. I'm living proof of that. But it was anything but easy.

Perhaps that is the answer then? Be there for the kids? We can't be a father to them, but we can sure do everything we possibly can to be the best and most attentive uncle and aunt (or Tio and Tia). I suppose that is the answer then. Be strong for the children. Be strong because strength and mentoring is what they need the most right now.

It isn't easy. But we're up to the task. So long, Mark Stromberg. And thanks for the visit, Katie Amaral. It came at an opportune time.

GOLD! Gold in the Bird Back 40!

Twenty Ounce Apple Tree-Bird Back 40

Well -- not really gold per se. Sorry to get you excited. I did not unearth golden nuggets during the latest "Big Dig" in the Bird Back 40. But -- I will tell you this much. I brought some gold rush history back home and planted it. Soon, provided the wife that is Venus and I are lucky, we'll be munching on what the Gold Rush 49ers munched on more than a century ago.

This is prime bare root fruit tree season in California and across the rest of the country. It's warming up fast outside in California, but there's still a little time left to head out to your favorite nursery and purchase the fruit tree of your choice. This happens to be a very good time for it! The nurseries are stocked to the gills with every fruit tree variety under the sun. Peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, apples, you name it.

Flavor Finale Pluots (Delicious)

Do you like fruit cocktail trees? One tree with three or four different varieties of fruit grafted to it? You'll find that as well. How about the new and exciting introductions from Dave Wilson Nursery? The Pluot? Plumcot? Aprium? The Pride Peach Collection? Yes sir! You'll find that your local nursery has plenty of them in stock as well.

The Bird Back 40 is stocked with DWN specialty trees -- from the Honey Crisp Apple to the Flavor Finale Pluot. Look closely enough and you'll spot the Pride Peach Collection (five Pride Peach selections grafted to one tree). You might even spot an Aprium. Maybe...

"Amigo" Bob Cantisano

But this year we decided to do something a little differently. For, it was last year when I read a wonderful story in the Home and Garden section of the Sacramento Bee about a man by the name of "Amigo" Bob Cantisano. Bob is a Nevada County native who helped start the Heaven and Earth Nursery in North San Juan (Felix Gillet Institute), a magical place designed to preserve and protect the gold rush fruit tree history of a one Felix Gillet.

Who is Felix Gillet and why have you and I never heard of him? I could bore you with volumes of details that I've learned about this legendary character and his rightful place in California fruit and nut tree history, but I won't. Suffice to say, Felix was an original California pioneer. He immigrated to the United States from France, and some years later made his way out to the gold fields in California.

Felix Gillet

Felix, however, didn't come here to pan gold. Although he did have some mining claims, nobody is quite sure what Felix did with them. Nope -- Felix was a barber by trade. He owned and operated a barbershop in Nevada City, where he also sold "French Finery" such as pens, stationary and toys. But his biggest contribution to California agricultural history was yet to come.

Gillet returned to France in 1864 to learn the nursery trade, and upon his return to Nevada City, he purchased 16 acres of land that had been stripped clean and timbered by gold miners. He would name this his Barren Hill Nursery. And, it's on this tiny plot of land where Gillet helped jump start not only the California fruit and nut tree industry, but the nut tree industries in neighboring Oregon and Washington State as well.

Bigarreau de Mai Cherry (Gillet Introduction)

Gillet spent thousands of dollars on importing fruit and nut trees from France via ship and then rail to Northern California, where he helped adapt his French offerings to the California climate. He is directly responsible for many of the fruit trees grown in California today, in not just backyards like ours but commercial orchards as well.

Cantisano, who has been promoting Gillet's groundbreaking work for decades, has managed to find thousands of Gillet fruit trees in old gold rush mining camps and in gold rush communities like Nevada City. Surprisingly, these trees, which are more than 150 years old, are still alive and still very productive.

Heaven and Earth Farm-North San Juan

During a recent presentation to the Nevada County Historical Society, Cantisano pointed out just one of dozens of cherry varieties that Gillet introduced to California. It's called the Bigarreau Gross de Mezel. Please don't ask me to pronounce that, because I'll fail miserably. Did you know this is still widely grown in California and elsewhere? It is, but the name of it has changed. Today we call it the Bing Cherry.

Have you ever eaten a Bing Cherry before? Then Cantisano says "you've tasted Felix Gillet." But it didn't stop with fruit and nut trees. Gillet was also responsible for importing French wine grapes into California. Have you heard of varieties called Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Sirah and Petite Sirah?

Twenty Ounce Apple

If you've ever had a glass of any of these wines, Cantisano will tell you that "you've tasted Felix Gillet."

As I began to learn more about Gillet and his work, it struck me that he laid the foundation for modern agriculture in California. Short and sweet, there would be no Dave Wilson Nursery without Gillet and his introductions. There would be no Floyd Zaiger and Zaiger Genetics, the family that brought us the Pluot and many other recent introductions.

Gillet wasn't the only breeder introducing fruit trees to California during the Gold Rush. There were others. But he was the only large provider located in old gold rush territory. Today, if you find a fruit tree growing at an old mining camp somewhere in Butte, Nevada, Placer, Sierra, Plumas, El Dorado, Amador or Calaveras Counties, chances are it came from Gillet's Barren Hill Nursery. And, if you ask Cantisano, he will tell you that he's literally stumbled onto thousands of them. Yet, at the same time, he'll also admit that he's barely scratched the surface of how many Gillet fruit introductions are still out there -- waiting to discovered -- just as the gold nuggets were waiting for gold rush miners that flocked to California.

Barren Hill Nursery Property

So -- in honor of this man's unique history and Amigo Cantisano's work to preserve Gillet's contributions, Venus and I ordered two fruit tree selections from the Heaven and Earth Farm: the Twenty Ounce Apple and the Birchville Beauty (Update: I've recently learned the Birchville Beauty may, in fact, be the Bigarreau de Maia cherry. Roughly translated, that's May Sweet Cherry). Both mother trees were discovered at long-abandoned mining camps in Nevada County. Both are more than 150 years old. Both are still very productive.

The drive to this nursery was an adventure in itself. Heaven and Earth Farm is located off Highway 49 above Nevada City. Highway 49 is in good enough shape, as are most of the connecting roads. But it's that second, third and fourth turns that are a little interesting.

Soon, you find yourself turning left on something that should be called "You Call This a Road?" And then there's that right on "This Looks More Like a Game Trail Than a Road." It's one of them "white knuckle" type drives that you're not going forget anytime soon.

Venus with Adam Nuber-Heaven and Earth Farm

Both apple and cherry tree have found a home in the Bird Back 40, but that's not the end of this story. No, it's really just beginning. It would seem to me that someone who contributed as much as Gillet did to California agriculture would not only be remembered, but celebrated.

But he's not. I'd never heard of Felix Gillet until I read Debbie Arrington's story about Amigo Cantisano and his Heaven and Earth Farm. Why isn't there a statue of this man in front of the headquarters of the California Department of Food and Agriculture? Why has Felix Gillet been forgotten? Pushed off the history pages of Horticulture?

I have my feelings and suspicions as to why. It's a subject that I will tackle with my next blog posting. Until then, dear readers, I've got two new fruit trees to water and care for.

Happy Gardening New Year!

Good morning and welcome to 2015! Wait, the clock says 12:12 PM! Did I really sleep that long? I've got to stop watching those New Year's Eve broadcasts on Univision. That's right, I said Univision. Even though most of the programming flies right over my head (I don't speak the best Spanish), I do like the fact that they put live crews at Disneyland in Southern California to ring in the New Year.

That's much better than watching one of the major networks repeat a New York City ball drop that took place three hours earlier, don't you think? Univision also isn't afraid to highlight singers who are over the age of 30. Jeez, when did I get so old and crotchedy?

Disneyland Rings in 2015

The new year means a new start to gardening efforts. And you thought time slowed down for gardeners during those winter months? Perish the thought! Winter time is planning time. If you're into serious gardening like me and the wife that is Venus (plus countless others) -- winter is just as important as spring, summer and fall. For it's the steps we take right now that either assure our success, or spell our doom, come summertime.

So what is on Bill Bird's gardening agenda for the first day of 2015? More than one or two items actually. Here is just a smattering of some of garden planning that takes place during this non-slow period of the year.

Seeds from Lockhart Seed

SEEDS, SEEDS, SEEDS: If you grow your garden from seeds, as we do, now is the time to start ordering seeds for the coming spring and summer. My work on this front actually started weeks ago. Our first stop was to the Mother of all seed stores in the San Joaquin Valley: Lockhart Seed in Stockton. There you will find most of everything you need for a full scale garden -- but not everything.

Seed catalogs that arrive by the dozens during this time of year plus seed websites offer the selection you can't find at seed stores. Most of my heirloom tomato seed -- for example -- comes from two or three different sources. Tomato Grower's Supply offers a warehouse selection of many major heirloom and hybrid tomato offerings. I'm also a fan of the breeding efforts of Bradley Gates, who runs Wild Boar Farms in the heart of the Napa Valley.

Tomato Selections from Wild Boar Farms

The Gates operation doesn't offer heirlooms. But he does offer selections that he's created on his own -- such as the Pink Berkeley Tie Dye and Cascade Lava. Other seeds come from other gardeners who save seed from the particular plants they liked in 2014. This is how I obtained seeds for the Ukrainian Heart tomato. They came as a trade that I engineered with Davis gardener and California Rare Fruit Grower (CRFG) member Marta Matvienko. Marta send me seeds for Ukrainian Heart. In return, I sent her seeds for Black Cherry -- a volunteer that sprang from the garden last year.

I also owe Marta a smattering of Blue Lake Pole Bean Seeds. Why? Because I was dumb enough to buy a pound of these seeds from Lockhart Seed. And I won't be planting a pound of pole bean seeds. Ever.

Ordering seeds is also the first step in the process. Tomato fanatics like me and the wife that is Venus will start planting these seeds indoors starting in February. Seed starting efforts for hot peppers, like the Ghost pepper for example, start even earlier. Some people have already started seeds for the Ghost and Scorpion peppers. This is because these types of varieties demand long growing seasons. Starting hot peppers in January means a nice harvest in July or August -- right when the tomatoes ripen.

Salsa anyone?

FRUIT TREES: The next two months are premium months for bare root fruit tree season. Major fruit tree suppliers like Dave Wilson Nursery in Hickman are already in the process of shipping tens of thousands of every fruit tree variety you can possible imagine to nurseries all over the West Coast and elsewhere. I'm not sure how big the DWN footprint actually is (I've never asked). But since they are the primary supplier for all things pluot, plumcot and other recent fruit tree introductions, I can imagine they get a lot of business.

And you thought Christmas season was busy?

One of my favorite activities is to browse the fruit tree selections on the DWN website. There you will find photos and entries about every fruit tree they offer. Not sure if you want a plum or a pluot? Torn between apples and apricots? Should it be a pear or a pomegranate? The DWN website, plus planting recommendations might answer some of those nagging doubts.

And there's nothing like a bit of fresh fruit pulled from a backyard or front yard tree during the summer. Bare root season is also the best time for planting because there's not as much stress placed on the tree as it's hauled from nursery site to that premium spot you've picked out for it in your yard.

Flavor Finale Pluot Tree in Winter

FRUIT TREE CARE: Now that the leaves are off the multitude of fruit trees I have scattered about the Bird Back 40 -- it's time to start thinking about winter care to prevent spring problems. There's a lot to worry about -- from peach leaf curl to the dreaded fire blight. Spraying early for insect control might erase or even lessen the expected bug invasion during the spring and summer.

I've come to discover that there's a particular bug that enjoys my Flavor Finale pluot tree as much as I do. If I fail to do anything to control it -- this invading army will infect and destroy every leaf on the tree. The most effective control I've found against this bug is to treat the tree once in the winter and again in the spring -- AFTER it has stopped flowering (we don't want to be spraying the helpful pollinators -- now do we?).

Grapevines in Need of a Haircut

Winter time is also pruning time -- especially for items such as wine or table grapes or fruit trees planted together in a Backyard Orchard Culture setting. Some fruit trees -- like the Granny Smith apple for example -- need a little "convincing" to enter that needed winter slumber. While many apple tree selections gladly shed every last leaf during the first blast of arctic weather -- the Granny stubbornly holds out like a petulant child who isn't quite ready for bedtime.

So how does one "convince" a Granny Smith apple tree to shed every last leaf? Yell at it? Call it bad names? Insult it? No, nothing that dire. Simply put on your winter gardening gloves and pick every last leaf off. Granny will get the message.

Finally -- winter time is a perfect time for fruit tree GRAFTING. This is why many CRFG Chapters hold scion exchanges during the months of January and February. The Sacramento Chapter is no different. This year's scion exchange will take place on Sunday, January 18 from 10:00 to 1:00 at La Sierra Community Center (5325 Engle Rd., Carmichael 95608).

And here you thought winter time was a "slow time" for us gardening fanatics. I'm tired already!

A Harvest Like You

Flavor Finale Pluots-Bird Back 40

I've been waiting for this moment to be brutally honest. I've been waiting for a harvest like you. Because the planting and growing of fruit trees is an exercise in patience. You are not going to be rewarded with a bounty of fresh fruit in the first year nor the second. The third year might give you a little something. But it's that fourth year that fruit growers really look forward too.

Why that fourth year? Because as you've dutifully tended, watered and fertilized your young fruit and citrus trees, you have given them the time they need to establish large and strong root systems below the soil line. Strong roots = strong trees. Strong trees = a bounty of fresh fruit come harvest time.

Sliced Flavor Finale Pluots

But, alas, it doesn't always work this way. Sometimes the fourth year is a bust. The fifth year can be disappointing as well. Sometimes -- it's the third year. It all depends upon the fruit tree in question, where it's planted, how much sunshine it receives and how well you've cared for it. Did disease hit at some point? What about bugs? Bugs love fruit trees just as much as I do.

But there comes that moment in time, where the harvest you've worked and waited for finally arrives. You can't taste it yet. But you can see it forming before your eyes. In my case? The Flavor Finale Pluot tree that I stuck in the ground five years ago finally got around to delivering the type of harvest that I had always dreamed about, but never quite attained.

WHOA! Now that's a harvest to remember!

What is that perfect harvest? It's a harvest that is so large, that one bathes in pluots. There's enough pluots on the tree for fresh eating. There's enough pluots on that tree to make loads and loads of pluot jam and other pluot goodies. Gin drinks made with freshly squeezed pluot juice anyone? Finally -- there's still enough to give away to family, friends and neighbors -- all they can take -- and there's still enough fruit left on the tree to feed a marauding family of mockingbirds.

That, my friends, is a harvest to remember. And it took place this year in the Bird Back 40 in what will be described as an "average" fruit year by many. The weather wasn't quite right for cherries in Northern California this year, which is why the purchase of 1 lb. of cherries cost an arm and a leg in the local supermarket. Some peach varieties -- like the June Pride for example -- set very little fruit. And the three nectarine trees delivered a smattering of fresh nectarines. And don't get me started on the apples and pears -- especially when it comes to a rather nasty bug like fire blight.

Flavor Finale Pluot Tree-Bird Back 40

This wasn't what I had expected. But if you grow fruit for fun, you take the good with the bad. In some years the times are good. In others? Not so much. That's when it's time to drag out the old farmer's lament of "there's always next year."

But -- as you might be able to notice in the photo above left --there's a bit of wood propping up a branch laden with pluots. Know what that means? It was a rather right fine year for pluot production. More than right fine I should say. The dang tree was loaded to the point where some unpropped branches did actually snap under the weight of a terrifically large and luscious pluot crop.

Flavor Finale Pluot Jam-Bird Kitchens

I'll be completely honest with you. I've been privy to pluots ever since I first discovered them at a Sacramento area farmer's market more than a decade ago. I've always been a fan of home-grown plums and not-yet-dried prunes like the Clairac Mammoth de Ente (Improved French Prune). But the pluot offered a tasty feast that I quickly fell in love with. I couldn't buy enough to meet my personal demand. And I knew, fairly early on during the Bird Back 40 landscaping process, that a pluot tree would find its way home. I just wasn't sure which one it would be.

It would be November 19th, 2009 where I would conspire with another Sacramento area gardener and blogger (two of them actually) and place a large order through Bay Laurel Nursery. That order consisted of table grapes, thornless boysenberry and blackberry vines and one Flavor Finale Pluot tree. Why the Flavor Finale? Good question! You think I remember after five years of hitting hard gin like that?

Pluots...

Actually -- I did know that the Flavor Finale had recently won a Dave Wilson Nursery taste test challenge. And the fact that it ripened late -- in September no less -- was another good call. When one chooses to grow fruit trees -- you don't want everything ripening up in August. I would come to find out later that grafting different plum and pluot varieties onto the Flavor Finale was like falling off a log. If there is every such a thing known as the "Franken Fruit Tree" in the Bird Back 40, it's the Flavor Finale Pluot.

My thanks to the wonderful and wacky mind of Floyd Zaiger and his Zaiger Genetics program. Without his wonderful invention called the pluot, the first of which was introduced under the name of Flavor Supreme in 1988, my Flavor Finale harvest to remember would never had taken place.

The Drought is Over!

The Wife That is Venus-Bird Back 40

You heard right -- the drought is over! It's done! Finished! Kaput! Good riddance! Don't let the door hit you in the keester on the way out! Your company was never wanted to begin with! So, get a clue, MaGoo and SCRAM. And If I don't see you next year -- it won't be too soon!

As you might be able to tell, I don't like droughts. As a matter of fact, I kind of detest them.

Friends and frenemies -- I'm not talking about the kind of drought that means a lack of water. We're still in that. Big time. That hasn't ended. It's here. It's going to stick around for the next couple of months. While we can hope and pray for big bucket of rain from the sky next winter season -- that's still a long ways off. There are hot summer days still to come.

Apricots in May? Yes Please!

Nope -- the drought I'm referring too -- the drought that has now officially ended -- is the drought on fresh fruit production in the Bird Back 40. It's over. It's gone. It started with a smattering of strawberries from the Albion plants situated beneath the Backyard Orchard Culture (BOC) Apple Orchard, but that wasn't nearly enough to satisfy and satiate our fresh fruit desires. But this latest little treat comes as a big surprise. I wasn't expecting this tree-ripened fruit, this early in the fruit growing season.

The proof of our fresh fruit extravaganza is pictured above right in that dazzling photo of sheer beauty. That is the wife that is Venus -- and she is smiling for good reason. No -- she did not win the lottery. No -- the Pope did not grant special dispensation so she could file for divorce. She's smiling because her favorite tree-ripened fruit ripened a lot earlier than we ever expected.

Royal Rosa Apricot

That's the five-in-one Apricot Fruit Cocktail tree to the right of the vision that is Venus. A Dave Wilson Nursery multi-budded special, we stuck this tree in the ground during the 2013 bare root season. We allowed it to produce a little bit of fruit last year -- just a taste mind you. We're allowing it to produce a lot more this year.

Are all the apricots on that tree ripe for the picking? Of course not! That's the beauty behind a five-in-one Fruit Cocktail tree. The five different varieties all ripen at different times of the spring and summer. In fact -- not all of the varieties on that Fruit Cocktail tree are actually apricots. Nope! One branch contains the Aprium.

Royal Rosa Apricots with Tomcots in the Background

Exsqueeze me? A what? "Maw! He's using them strange words again!" What in the world is an Aprium? Is it an apricot? Is it a plum? The answer to both questions is, "yes." Mind blowing isn't it? According to our fine friends at DWN, "The Aprium is a is a complex interspecific hybrid, predominantly of apricot and plum. Additionally, the sugar content of interspecifics is much higher than in standard plums or apricots, yielding fruit of incomparable sweetness."

Ain't that just terrible news?

But, I digress, because the fruit from this tree that is bringing us the most joy at the moment happens to be the branch that holds the Royal Rosa Apricot. Although it's not supposed to fully ripen until the third week of May -- the third week of May came a tad bit early this year -- here in the first week. Not all of them are ripe, of course. Some might even make that third week date. But just enough are soft for the picking and at optimum sweetness.

Young Annie Lennox

Is the Royal Rosa Apricot good? Is the Pope Catholic? Do tomato plants grow in Sacramento? Did Annie Lennox dump The Tourists? OK -- so it's a little obscure music knowledge on Bill Bird's part. But, the point is the answer to all three questions is a definite "yes." The Royal Rosa, Katy, Blenheim, Tomcot and Flavor Delight Aprium have all found a deserved home in the Bird Back 40.

It's been far too long since Bill or Venus sampled fresh fruit from the Bird Back 40. The drought is over. The onset of fresh fruit season is as right as rain.

If only we could get a little more of it.

Mr. Harrow Finds a Home

BOC Pear Orchard-Bird Back 40

Mr. Harrow is home at last. And I find this to be just DEEE-lightful. Who is Mr. Harrow, you ask? Well -- let me explain. Mr. Harrow isn't really a "who." Mr. Harrow is more of a "what" than anything else. So, what is Mr. Harrow, you ask? Well -- I'm glad you stopped by to ask!

 

Mr. Harrow is pictured above right. That, children, represents the latest planting endeavor in the Bird Back 40. For you are casting your eyes on the Bird Back 40 Pear Orchard -- planted via Backyard Orchard Culture (BOC) techniques. Didn't think you could cram three fruit trees into a small spot? Think again, because you can, and quite successfully I might add.

 

BOC Apple Orchard-Bird Back 40

This is our third BOC planting effort. The nectarine trees we stuck in the ground some four years ago delivered a whopper of a harvest last year. And the BOC apple planting effort? Well, you may have heard my praise about the Honeycrisp Apple variety somewhat. It's only the best darn apple on the planet, bar none.

 

But our latest effort is something very special. Because this effort involves a one Mr. Harrow -- aka -- Mr. Harrow Delight. Mr. Harrow isn't a person, but rather a fruit tree. Not just any fruit tree mind you. The Harrow Delight Pear Tree is simply the best darn pear I've ever tasted. Yes -- it beats the Bartlett Pear in taste and consistency. This includes a home-grown, tree-ripened Bartlett, which for years has been the best in the business.

 

Harrow Delight Pear-DWN Fruit Tasting-2010

However, you know what they say about mousetraps, right? Someone is always trying to build a better one. And in the world of pears, someone hit the jackpot with the Harrow Delight pear tree. I'm not sure why this variety isn't propagated commercially, because it's been around for long enough. There might be some drawbacks from commercial production that I'm unaware of. But I can tell you that Harrow Delight is simply the best backyard pear tree ever.

 

Isn't that enough?

 

I've been hooked on the Harrow Delight since I first attended a fruit tasting event held at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center some years back. If you want to know what grows, and grows well in the Sacramento area, I would suggest a visit to the horticulture center soon. The best time to visit? That would be the annual Harvest Season celebration, because that's usually when the fine folks from Dave Wilson Nursery show up with all sorts of good things to sample.

 

DWN Fruit Tasting-Fair Oaks-2010

It was there where I got my first extraordinary taste of the Harrow Delight pear. You must keep in mind that I had a plateful of pluots, bowls of blackberries and platters of peaches to munch on to my heart's delight. A Dave Wilson Nursery fruit tasting extravaganza is a fruit lover's ultimate dream. Yet, the one piece of tree-ripened fruit that beat everything to the punch on that particular day was the Harrow Delight pear.

 

Surely -- I must have received that special piece of pear that was better than the rest, right? That pear couldn't be THAT good, could it? But, as I returned to fill up that fruit pail again and again, each bite of that Harrow Delight got better and better. It was then when the wife that is Venus and I realized that THIS was the pear tree for our backyard.

 

Lonely Bartlett Pear Tree

But like most weekend warrior projects, the BOC pear planting effort would have to wait. There were some years when the Harrow Delight simply wasn't in stock, or I would wait too long only to find out that most of the trees had been snapped up by fruit lovers who were quicker on the trigger than I was. I would acquire the first part of the BOC pear project, the  Bartlett pear, last year. It would sit in a pot and wait for the addition of the Harrow Delight and one other variety this year.

 

That other variety -- by the way -- is the Blake's Pride. Why this particular variety? There are a couple of reasons. First -- one builds a BOC pear orchard to experience a pear harvest that lasts six to eight weeks rather than just three. The Harrow Delight, Blake's Pride and Bartlett all ripen at different periods during the summer. Secondly? These varieties all pollinate one another. More pollinators mean more fruit on the branch come harvest -- which is never a bad thing.

 

Return of the V for Venus Planter Bed

And so -- the Bird Pear Orchard is now installed and complete. One variety will ripen up two weeks before the Bartlett. Still another will ripen up two weeks AFTER the Bartlett. That's a solid month of pears, people. Try as you might, this is not a bad thing.

 

But the best part about the Harrow Delight pear tree was yet to be discovered. As I gazed at the tag attached to the tree to drink in the details of what will be Bill and Venus Bird's favorite pear tree -- two words jumped out at us. What were those two very special words? HEAVY BEARER.

 

That means lots of pears, baby. Isn't that just a crime?

Sorry Kid -- Better Luck Next Time!

Return of the V for Venus Planter Bed

Welcome friends -- to another outdoor adventure in the Bird Back 40! I'm jazzed! It's raining outside! The Back 40 is one big pile of mud! Why am I so happy? Mud means water! And it's finally beginning to fall in sheets here in Northern California. The parched ground has finally soaked in enough moisture where small puddles are starting to form. And small puddles mean big lakes if we can get enough rain.

 

Of course, this puts the official kibosh on outdoor projects for the weekend -- which is fine by me. Because, let's face it people: Bill Bird needs the rest. For this post could also be entitled: "How to Build a Pear Orchard in 49 Easy Steps." I don't just plant fruit trees during bare root season. Oh no, people. Bill Bird puts on a production!

 

Bare Root Pear Trees

Of course, I've also learned through trial and MULTIPLE errors that these things have to be done right, otherwise that project that was supposedly "finished," suddenly ropes you back in. This particular project two weekends ago? Install a pear orchard for three bare root pear trees. Not just any pear trees people -- but the most delicious of selections from our fine friends at Dave Wilson Nursery. These people don't produce fruit trees. They produce heaven on a branch.

 

But before those pear selections could find a permanent home in the Bird Back 40 -- several steps had to be undertaken. Pear trees require good soil for one. This is something sadly lacking in the Bird Back 40. The dirt consists of clay that turns into a muddy mess in the winter and concrete in the summer. It's great for growing Roundup-resistant weeds that contain root systems made of iron, but little else. If I want a plant or tree to grow and thrive in the Bird Back 40, I've got to give it good soil.

 

The Great PVC Project

Ah -- but that's just part of the rub. Fruit trees demand more than just great soils. They also appreciate a drink of water every now and then. And the spot I had selected from them was a good country mile from the nearest, buried, PVC line. Know what that means people? It means digging in the dirt to find that buried PVC line, hacking into it, and then trenching a country mile with my handy dandy trenching shovel.

 

Oh -- my aching back!

 

Fortunately, I had a pretty good idea of where the nearest buried PVC line was. Another raised bed used for growing summer produce like heirloom tomatoes and melons wasn't all that far off. While I knew where the line came up inside the bed, I'd forgotten which course I took six years ago to extend that line into this particular bed.

 

Trenching a new PVC Irrigation Line

My hope was that I'd extended that line outside the bed, and then made a sharp right turn into the bed itself. It still meant that I would have to dig, but I knew I wouldn't be forced to dig very far -- maybe six inches. But if that line ran under the raised gardening bed itself? I would be forced to dig through a foot or more of composted soil, before I could reach the clay below.

 

That's one big hole to dig, people. And one mighty sore back to boot. Plus -- if accessing and hacking into a PVC line that is buried six inches deep is difficult, imagine the pain of trying to access and work with a line that's buried under two feet of composted soil and clay.

 

Digging Out a Raised Gardening Bed

As I began to dig and poke around outside that raised bed on that particular Saturday, my buoyant hopes ever so slowly started to deflate. Two or three test holes told me there was no buried PVC line outside the bed. Would I begin to realize my worst fears that the buried line was inside the planter bed? Do I make mistakes, people?

 

And so, after coming up snake eyes on that third test hole, I knew what had to be done. I at least knew where the PVC line was located inside that 8X8 raised bed. I would be forced to remove half of the soil from that bed so I could access that PVC line coming straight out of the ground, and then dig into the clay below.

 

PVC Lines at CRAZY Angles

Because the Bird Back 40 resembles a pie-shaped lot -- there are no straight lines to follow. The fencing separating my yard from others runs at crazy 90 degree angles. This makes the installation of PVC irrigation lines quite difficult. While 3/4 inch, Schedule 40 PVC lines are flexible, they also don't bend at 90 degree angles. This meant when I was installing the main lines all those years ago, many of them were extended at crazy angles instead of a straight line.

 

It was the only way to get the PVC line where it needed to go -- so crazy angles it was all those years ago. I would come to discover that the PVC line I'd extended into this particular raised bed was at a rather crazy angle alright. It ran directly underneath the bed and connected to a main irrigation line I had installed next to the fence. Thank God I wasn't required to trench all the way to that fence, as I would have been required to tunnel underneath a concrete walkway that I'd installed two years earlier.

 

Hello Down There!

There's a rather special kind of back pain that develops when you're reaching into and dealing with a PVC line that is buried two feet beneath the soil line. It sort of screams at you. It's even tougher to cut into and glue a PVC T into place. But if I wanted pears? It had to be done. And I wasn't about to return my prized pear trees.

 

It wasn't long before my hands were stained purple from PVC primer and sticking together from spilled PVC glue -- but that PVC T was finally glued into place. With the hard part finally accomplished? The rest was child's play. A little glue on this 90 degree connector -- a little more glue on this PVC line -- and lots more glue on my hands. I find it rather amazing that I didn't glue myself into that trench line -- but skin tears easily. And, hopefully it will grow back. Someday.

 

This Won't Hurt -- Promise!

Where does this special PVC line lead? That -- people -- comes in Part II of the compelling story of how to plant a pear orchard in 49 easy steps! But first -- the joys of back surgery!

 

I'm kidding peeps. The back is fine. Sorta.