Apples and Pears and Plums, Oh My!

There’s no doubt that it’s been a strange and challenging year. According to the Seattle Weather Blog, we’re having an unusually wet July but the overall rainfall for the year is at around half the normal amount.We’ve been hearing from tree owners all around the island that their apples are falling, which means it’s time to talk about why your apples might be dropping off the tree before they’re ripe and what you can do about it.The most likely cause of apples dropping at this time of year is water stress. Not enough water will cause trees to drop fruit in an attempt to conserve resources. If you can, water your trees. If you’re on city water this might be prohibitively expensive (and if we end up in a drought, water use could be restricted). If you can’t water your trees, you can mulch them. This has benefits beyond keeping your trees hydrated, making it a great investment.If you’re feeling adventurous (or ambitious), you can use grey water to irrigate your trees (and the rest of your garden as well). Grey water is just sink and shower water that can be diverted to your garden. It’s best to use biodegradable soaps and avoid chemicals (think bleach, hair dye, etc). Learn more here.Now that it’s really summer, our gleaning team is geared up and ready to hit the ground running. For new friends - our gleaning team collects fruit from donated trees and brings it to the Good Cheer Food Bank to be added to the produce section or shared with community partners. Donations and volunteer gleaners help us offer fresh, organic, locally grown fruit to people with limited access to healthy food.If you have fruit trees you would like to donate for our gleaning team to harvest: let us know as early as possible by emailing gleefulgleaners@goodcheer.org or visit our website and fill out the fruit tree donor form at least 2-3 weeks before the fruit on your tree is ripe. The more heads up time you can give us, the more likely it is that we will be able to coordinate a volunteer picking crew to harvest your tree!If you would rather harvest your own tree fruit to donate, here’s a quick and dirty guide to picking:Apples: Pick when ripe (dark seeds, juicy flesh, fruit starts to fall from tree) and check for pest damage - compost any fruit with apple maggot or coddling moth damage.Asian Pears: Pick ripe, but not overripe. Take an extra moment to examine for pest damage.Pears: Do not let pears ripen on the tree - they ripen from the inside out, so if they’re soft on the outside they’ll be rotten on the inside. Pears are ripe when they are still hard but the stems detach easily when you lift the fruit up at an angle. Pears ripen best in cold storage, but different varieties have different ripening times.Plums: Pick 2-3 days before full ripeness! Plums ripen very quickly off the tree and if you’re donating them, it often takes us a few days to get them all distributed to clients. Keep the stems attached (snipping the stems with small scissors is the easiest way) to maintain the integrity of the fruit.You can find out full donation guidelines here Too many apples? Borrow, buy, or dust off your apple press and follow this guide to make your own apple cider: https://angelatravels.com/make-apple-cider-apple-press/To learn more about the scientific realm of cider - Washington State University and their Research and Extension Center is at the forefront of agricultural research: https://cider.wsu.edu/Our recommended author of the month is Michael Phillips. Focused mostly on apples, Phillips is a great resource, author, and practitioner for holistic fruit tree care and orchard development. Two of his books are available through the Sno-Isle Library!“When I was building my orchard I used his resources more than any other” - a South Whidbey orchard owner and landscaper.Check out his website: https://www.groworganicapples.com/contact/In other news - if you haven’t heard, Good Cheer and some fabulous community partners are putting on a series of summer happy hours around the south end in order to raise money for the Whidbey Island Bank matching grant. Every year, Whidbey Island Bank matches up to $5000 in donations to Good Cheer, to help families who count on the school lunch program make sure their children get enough healthy food during the summer months.The first one, at Cozy’s Roadhouse August 1st, was a rousing success and a great time was had by all! The next one, on Thursday August 8th at Porter’s Public House, is shaping up to be just as fun. If you haven’t been to Porter’s yet, they’re launching Thirsty Thursdays with a Good Cheer fundraiser (cause they’re just that awesome!), so come on down and join us! Check the Good Cheer Facebook page or our website for the full series! That’s all for now - we hope that you’re having a wonderful summer, whatever the weather brings! Stay tuned for next month - we’ll share some information about winter storage of fruits and veggies, as well as the dates for our cider press and events around the island.