Fruta

A couple months ago, I ordered and planted a 'Reliance' peach tree and a 'Mount Royal' plum (both Zone 4 and self-pollinating). The plum came with no blossoms, but the peach was loaded, and it looks like we may eat pick some fruit in another couple months.



I rubbed off quite a few buds so as not to overload the tree after transplanting. I love this tree for both its fuzzy little fruit and because it already smells peachy.

As I've mentioned before, my blueberries are loaded this year -- their third in my yard:



Over in the apple orchard, my one tree is growing plenty of little apples...



but causing me plenty more consternation. First, I don't like spraying it with pesticide, but I'm determined to harvest something edible from this tree, and I can't find an alternative to spraying. I sprayed pre-bloom and again about 10 days after the blossoms dropped. I was hoping to stop there, but careful observation [obsession] uncovered borings into my tine apples. I don't know much about apple pests -- other than there are a lot them. But this looks like it could be apple maggot. So I sprayed again yesterday. I'm also going to order a couple sticky apple traps (fake apples covered in something sticky that attracts pests).

Beyond my own yard, local strawberries are starting to show up. The u-pick places should be open in a week or two, provided we dry out. (Last year, the strawberry seasons was all but non-existent due to too much rain.) I can taste them already...