Today in the orchard
It was mostly clear and dry today and finally starting to warm up. If you listen carefully you can hear the plants chanting in a low rumble, “heat…heat…heat…heat…” It’s building to a crescendo. The onions, especially, are about to blurt out “IT’S TIME FOR SOME HEAT!” The apples could use it too. So could the plum curculios. The poor little guys are shivering in their shells in the woody forest duff. Plum Curculio (Conotrachelus nenuphar) is a weevil that winters in the woods of Maine and feeds on small fruit. They particularly relish small plums and apples (c. 6mm). They also need heat to motivate, so although the fruits are approaching the perfect size, we haven’t seen evidence of the “Curcs” yet. The telltale sign is a “crescent moon-shaped” scar on the surface of the tiny fruit. On a “good” curc year, the apple and plum crops can be devastated. The affected fruit typically drops to the ground at a young age, long before reaching a usable size. Conventional growers use certain pesticides to control the Curc. We use Surround, the refined clay powder. Today we sprayed the apples still in bloom (just a few left) and all those at “petal-fall” (many). It’s a big job but we did it.
Ludwig Spaeth, June 2, 2025.
Quick word about lilacs before they fade away for another year. I mentioned Ludwig Spaeth the other day. I was out admiring it this evening. What a great color. It’s worth growing if you have a soft spot for Lilacs.
