It's Baby Goat Season Y'all!

I meant to have this newsletter/blog post/update out about two weeks ago, but then baby goats started hatching all over the island and I’ve been busy. Snuggling baby goats is a full time job while it lasts. But they’re big enough now to start climbing up on the walls and taunting any silly English knnnnighuts who happen by, so it’s back to work for me.

Tree diseases, and growing winter crops for the food bank

Tree diseases come in three forms: bacterial, fungal, and viral. Some are dependent on time of year and weather conditions, while others need an entry route (insect holes or other damage). Lack of water, poor growing conditions, or over-pruning can decrease a tree’s resistance to disease and pests (the same way poor nutrition or lack of exercise can weaken our resistance to illness and disease) so keeping your trees healthy will help stave off pests and diseases. The WSU extension has a ton of information here. PNW handbooks also has an awesome guide to plant diseases that includes information on insects, weeds, and pesticide safety. It’s a searchable guide as well, so you can quickly find what you’re looking for.Here's a quick summary of the most common tree diseases we see on Whidbey Island:

Bacterial Diseases

Fire blight and canker are two of the most common bacterial diseases affecting fruit trees. Fire blight typically affects apple and pear trees, while canker works on plums and cherries.Fire blight  causes wilted blossoms and shriveled branches. Remove affected wood, making sure to disinfect tools between cuts to avoid spreading the infection. Fire blight can spread rapidly, so treat promptly and burn removed branches away from the tree rather than throwing them in the compost pile.Bacterial canker shows up as wounds bleeding amber sap on the trunk or branches, along with wilted leaves. Prune trees in dry weather, as canker spreads in damp conditions. Remove diseased wood and dispose of away from the tree. Copper based fungicide can also be an effective treatment.

Fungal Diseases

Common fungal diseases include scab, powdery mildew, and brown rot. While scab is more cosmetic, it can leave openings for brown rot, which will make your fruit inedible. WSU has a specific page on fungal diseases that covers more of them.Scab is a fungus that infects blossoms, leaves and fruit. It thrives in damp conditions, so prune branches so that the interior of the tree has full sun. Rake and dispose of leaves in the fall. You can use a fungicide spray to control the infestation - WSU has detailed information here and City Fruit has information on Pear Scab herePowdery mildew is especially damaging to apples, affecting blossoms and leaves. Similar to scab, it breeds quickly in damp conditions. The same sprays used to treat scab are also used for powdery mildew. More on managing scab and mildew hereBrown rot attacks through holes in the fruit - things like insect damage and scab leave openings for the fungus to enter. It’s probably my least favorite tree disease - it’s just nasty looking, and it makes the fruit inedible. It’s also a good reason to eliminate pests like coddling moth, which create perfect openings for the fungus to enter. If you see fruit on the tree that looks like this, remove it, and dispose of well away from trees.

Viral diseases are most often spread through grafting, except for one or two. More info here.

 A few common elements to treating and preventing disease:

• Keep trees pruned so that there’s good air circulation and sunlight throughout. This means opening up the interior of the tree as well.
• Prune in dry weather - hard to do when pruning season around here is February/March, but aim for the window of dry weather (because who wants to be out pruning trees in the rain anyway?)
• Rake up and dispose of leaves in the fall so that bacteria and fungi don’t have nice winter homes. This also helps keep pests down, as both apple maggot and coddling moth larvae overwinter on the ground in nice cozy piles of dead leaves.
• Remove infected branches and burn well away from the tree - don’t throw them in the compost pile.

Growing winter crops for the food bank

Good Cheer is fortunate to have many generous gardeners on the south end who regularly donate fresh produce throughout the summer, but fresh produce donations in the winter are less common. Gardening during the winter is challenging, but it can be done! And, it’s a great way to have fresh produce for your table in the winter. This year, Island County is promoting the Grow A Row program to encourage donations of fresh produce to Whidbey Island Food Banks.If you feel like a challenge, try planting some winter crops! Leeks, parsnips, and brussel sprouts are good choices for this climate, along with kale and cauliflower. Now is the time to plant for fall and winter harvests - check out the Tilth guide for tips and information on planting and extending the harvest season.Our intrepid garden manager, Stephanie, kept one of the Good Cheer Garden kale beds going last winter, mainly by just letting it do its thing. She also grew some beautiful overwintered cauliflower, and our produce manager Lissa reports that her compost pile is warm enough to grow tiny but tasty new potatoes that she harvested early this spring. I let a few radishes hang around last fall (okay, lets be honest - I planted them in an old ammo box and forgot about them till the spring) and they surprised me by not only surviving but flourishing; they flowered and then put out radish pods around the beginning of May. If you haven’t tried radish pods, they’re delicious, sort of spicy and just the thing for spring salads.If you decide to try your hand at winter crops, you can check with Stephanie at goodcheergarden@gmail.com to see if she has any extra starts for winter crops. And let us know how you do! We always love to hear what people are growing and what works (or what doesn’t). Gleaning season is coming! Last year was a big year for apples, and this year is looking like it will be a bumper crop of plums and pears. If you’ve donated or picked with the gleaners previously, watch your email - we’ll be reaching out over the next few weeks to see if you’re interested in participating this season. Or you can sign up here (join the gleaners) and here (donate a tree).This year, we’re also looking for neighborhood scouts  - volunteers to keep an eye on trees in their neighborhood that have been donated to the gleaners, to let us know when they’re close to being ready to pick. This would help us tremendously with scouting and planning as it’s difficult for the gleaning crew to monitor all of the trees that are offered to the Food Bank. Many of our tree donors do a great job of letting us know when their trees are ready, but every year some trees get missed, for one reason or another. If you’re interested, or know someone who might be, contact the gleaning coordinator at gleefulgleaners@goodcheer.orgThat's all for now - enjoy the sunshine (rainshine?), watch out for rogue baby goats, and stay tuned for next month - we’ll share some tips on watering your trees, and how to thin fruit for a better harvest.