And Now for Something Completely Ugly

BOC Apple Orchard-Bird Back 40

Mother Nature can be viciously cruel at times, especially for those of us who yearn to dig in the dirt and plant good things to eat. Pictured to your right, my friends, is the Bird Back 40 Apple Orchard. It consists of three trees: Granny Smith, Fuji and Honey Crisp. I know this photo doesn't necessarily look all that ugly, but a closer inspection reveals the kinds of troubles that drive backyard growers crazy.

Short and sweet? Although those trees look healthy, they're not. In fact, the wife that is Venus and I will be lucky if we get a single apple this year. That's right! Three trees! One apple -- and we'll be lucky to get it. Worse yet -- there will no Honeycrisp Apple harvest this fall. That's worse than bad. It's tragic. The Honey Crisp is the best dang apple on the planet -- offering a taste explosion that cannot be missed.

Granny Smith Apple Tree-Bird Back 40

Yet -- I will miss it this year. And the photo to your left explains why. Those drooping leaves coming out at the end of one branch of the Granny Smith spell big time trouble. I first noticed this problem last week. It has since spread, slowly, to other parts of the Granny Smith and to the Honey Crisp.

This trouble is called Fire Blight. It's the first time its reared its ugly head in the Bird Back 40. I had this mistaken belief, perhaps call it a prayer, that backyard growers like myself would be spared from this scourge. Hah! Fat chance kid! The Blight is here and it's here to stay. Fire Blight means big trouble. Not only do the apple trees have it -- but the pear orchard I installed earlier this year has it as well.

Bartlett Pear-Bitten by Blight

I know what you're thinking. Why didn't you spray your trees to protect them from this bad boy over the winter? Oh, but I did. You see -- although Fire Blight has been around for a very long time -- there's still no active control for it. There is no spray, no dust, no treatment, organic or otherwise, that fights the dreaded blight. There is only one, proven method of control. And that method can result in a total crop loss, which is exactly what I'm facing.

This disease is called Fire Blight because it looks like leaves and fruit have been hit with a blow torch. The first sign of a problem is wilt. The leaves then turn a none-too-pleasant shade of brown, before fading to black. Fire Blight also spreads like wildfire.

Blackened Leaves-Granny Smith Apple Tree

I bet that you didn't know that, at one time in our not so distant past, pears and apples were kind of a big deal in Sacramento, Placer and the surrounding counties. Long before Sacramento adopted the nickname of SackofTomatoes, this was prime pear country. It still is in the southern part of Sacramento County, near the Sacramento River, but at one time tens of thousands of pear trees covered Sacramento fields from one of the county to the other.

And then, one day without warning, Fire Blight showed up. The damage was minimal at first -- but it spread like an out-of-control wildfire. Numerous controls were attempted. They all failed. Entire orchards were snuffed out in the space of a year or three. The main crop that powered the economic engine of Sacramento and the surrounding counties was dying a slow death, and nobody knew how it got here, how it spread from tree to tree and worse yet, how to stop it.

Dying Honey Crisp Apple-Bird Back 40

The answer of how the disease spread would come from horticulturists sent from UC Berkeley. It was believed that field workers were spreading the disease as they used pruning tools again and again as they moved from tree to tree, without washing them first. Today, that thinking has changed somewhat, at least in the opinion of some horticulturists who I contacted regarding my little problem. While the cleaning of pruning tools is still recommended, the belief is pollinators are spreading the pathogen as they move from tree to tree and flower to flower.

That's right -- the ordinary bee. This is where the infection starts -- when pear or apple tree bursts into bloom after a long winter's nap.

Fire Blight Strikes the Granny Smith Apple Tree

The good news? If there is any good news out of this, the "window of infection" is a short one. Once spring moves into summer, it's done. If there is any fruit on the tree that didn't get infected during the "window of infection," it's safe. But as for the branches, apples and pears that are infected? There is only one answer. That answer is pruning the infected branch back to a point where the dreaded blight can spread no further. It means the trees I've dutifully tended to a height of seven feet are about to get a rather severe haircut.

But that is my only option. Do nothing in the face of this scourge and the blight will show up again next year, stronger than the first year and left uncontrolled, will spread into the root system, killing the tree.

Honey Crisp Apple Blight Damage

I can't let that happen. I don't care how severe the cutting will have to be -- it's my only option. Do it, and I might save the tree. Do nothing, and that prized Honey Crisp will never deliver another tasty apple.

And so, those dreams I had over the winter of apple crisps, apple pie, apple juice and applesauce using our own home-grown apples will remain just that -- a dream. For this year -- Bill and the wife that is Venus are singing the farmer's lament: "There's Always Next Year."

Love Grows Where My Ro -- err -- Venus Goes

It was on this date -- seven years ago -- that I made the best decision of my life.

Yes sir. That's right.

I've been in cold beer ever since that fateful decision to purchase ye olde kegerator...

Wait? Was that seven years ago or five? I can't remember. Must be the effects of ye olde kegerator and draft Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Who am I kidding?

Actually -- it was on this date that a wonderful life journey started. It was on this date in history, October 26th, 2002, when I finally brainwashed the woman pictured to your right to the point where she could say the words "I do."

For her? It was a struggle. For me? Are you kidding? That's like the California Lottery asking if I wanted my $10 million award in "tens or twenties." That answer was pretty easy. It was on this date that I struck GOLD. And, if you're a fan of the San Francisco Giants, this also happens to be the same date that the Giants blew Game 6 of the 2002 World Series against the hated Angels.

That's the reason why watching the Angels lose to the Yankees last night wasn't half bad.

I digress. Back to the subject of this posting. Today, it's all about Venus. Because -- without the lovely bride that is Venus -- there would be no blog titled "Sacramento Vegetable Gardening." Well -- I suppose there could be -- but I wouldn't be writing it. There would be no garden in the backyard. No heirloom tomatoes. No sunshine. No happiness.

Venus and I haven't changed much since we were married seven years ago. Well -- check that. She still looks as gorgeous as ever and I have the photo snapped over the weekend to prove it. As for me -- well -- those rugged Mel Gibsonesque looks are starting to fade a bit. What happened to all my hair? Did I lose it in my waistline?

Questions, questions!

I'd like to tell you that Venus and I spent a glorious weekend in the Back 40 -- tearing out what was left of the summer garden and planting the rest of our fall treats. But -- you see -- we did that last weekend. And since it was our "special weekend," and using the same brainwashing techniques I successfully employed seven years ago, we both decided to hop on the train out of Sacramento on Friday for the romantic destination of: Berkeley.

Say again? Bezerkley? Yes -- that place. The University of California AT Berkeley to be more exact. Venus and I took in the Cal football game against Washington State this past weekend. It wasn't going to be televised. I knew that the Bears were probably going to win this one. The Cougars are -- well -- slightly better than God awful this season. So -- why not take the wife back to her old stomping grounds where she earned her degree?

Fortunately, Mother Nature came through with gorgeous Saturday afternoon weather. I mean -- folks -- for us Sacramento Valley types? The weather was perfect! Shirt sleeves and shorts. For Berkeley regulars? A little too hot for them -- but just fine for us.

And the Bears put on a show. By that -- I mean the game was pretty much over by the first quarter. Three or four first quarter touchdowns will do that to a game. The Cougars did at least try to make it interesting -- but the game was snoozeville pretty much after halftime.

No matter. The wife was home. She was back in her element. No visit to the Cal campus is complete without a stop at Top Dog -- the home of the (SURPRISE) Top Dog. You can't forget to at least walk a section or two of Telegraph Avenue -- and a stop at the Bear's Lair Pub is also an absolute must.

After two or three or seven (I kind of lost count) at the Bear's Lair -- the wife and I found ourself stumbling back in the direction of Shadduck Avenue -- toward that lovely downtown Berkeley BART station -- and the train back to Richmond. From there -- we would catch the Cal Train -- and the all-important BAR CAR -- back to Sacramento.

As for the Back 40? The fall garden? The Birds? The Bees? They can wait. The perfect marriage to the perfect woman comes only once in a man's lifetime. Better enjoy that life while you can. Because time does indeed fly when you're having fun. Which is why my marriage to this lady seems like yesterday.