Saturday, August 25, 2007

Happiness Is

My 18 year old apple tree, which had for several years been so overcome by coddling moths that we didn't get a single apple, has recovered to the point where almost half of the crop is worm-free and another quarter only lightly damaged. I had tried every organic thing I could try over the years; spraying is out because the tree overhangs our neighbor's narrow patio. In the end, I guess, the trick was several years of cleaning up under the tree (coddling moths bore a hole in the developing apple, eat the core leaving a disgusting mess, and when the rotting apple drops to the ground, burrows in the soil for the winter) and something called sticky traps; red apple-sized globes which are coated with the most remarkably sticky stuff ever invented. They're awful to deal with; the sticky stuff gets in everything, but they seem to be working, and I have apples again! I have such a sense of accomplishment: I've nursed a tree back to health. You don't do that every day! Joy, joy, joy!

Apple Sauce, apple butter, baked apples, fried apples, apple crisp, apples in hand, apple bread, apple cake, apple juice. Glory, Hallelujah!

2 comments:

tonymyles said...

Apples rock.

Judy said...

How do you keep the squirrels out of the apple tree? (Or maybe you don't have squirrels in New Mexico?)

Here in Pennsylvania we have three healthy apple trees, planted 2 years ago. This summer they bore their first crop, lotsa apples on each tree, but the squirrels took ALL of them before they were ripe enough to harvest. All my dreams of applesauce have turned to dust.