tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5138459729531944998.post6759236524313074538..comments2024-03-11T02:25:25.123-05:00Comments on Living Low in the Lou: An Opinionated Person’s Guide to Growing Fruit and Nuts, Part 2SLClairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17307602613058790026noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5138459729531944998.post-53131043455332680092019-11-23T05:17:38.556-06:002019-11-23T05:17:38.556-06:00Hi Claire,
Too true! And yes, blueberries are har...Hi Claire,<br /><br />Too true! And yes, blueberries are hard to keep away from the birds. Incidentally, down here I need to grow them in shade, where they are unfortunately very slow growing. But when I score the occasional blueberry, the taste is delectable. I don't use bird netting for all the reasons that you gave, except that you neglected to mention that wallabies (a smaller forest kangaroo) can rip holes in the netting and take whatever they want. :-)<br /><br />I really struggle with knowing what and when to irrigate during prolonged hot and dry times. And exactly like you sometimes, you just have to admit defeat and move on to hardier plants.<br /><br />Hey, elderflower flavours are making something of a comeback. The wine is a superb tasting wine, although the smell when cooking the flowers prior to fermentation is not so good. And they are so easy to propagate from hardwood cuttings. I've been expanding the number of elderberry plants growing, and they now self-seed and turn up in unusual places.<br /><br />Asian and European pears do very well here, although fire-blight is not known on this continent - yet. Pear and cherry slugs chew through the leaves some years, although the smaller birds are getting better at harvesting the slugs. But the trees grow big and tall. The Asian pears are more of a spreading habit than the European pears which seem to want to reach for the sky. The birds take the Asian pears unless I put bags over the slowly ripening fruit.<br /><br />And yeah, I have killed more than a few peaches and nectarine trees. And the fungal disease 'curly leaf' makes for slow tree growth as the tree has to drop a complete set of leaves and grow another. And late frosts can wipe out an entire apricot crop here too (fortunately there have been none this year).<br /><br />It is not bad sharing your produce with the wildlife. I'm just guessing, but there are tipping points where the plants produce more fruit than the wildlife can consume. And the cold winters put an upper limit on the population of critters wanting to share the produce. Dunno. I'd be curious as to your thoughts on that matter?<br /><br />Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences.<br /><br />Cheers<br /><br />Chris<br />Fernglade Farmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06950962122594709186noreply@blogger.com