Cold climate pear tree varieties, pear preservation, and what to do about codling moths

[@respectmothernature]

I learned the hard way that wearing a protective glove when using a mandolin is super helpful! They are a great time saver for me too!

[@BrokenGround]

Ah yes, that's a VERY good idea!

[@ourmontanahomestead8880]

Really enjoy your content! I planted Summercrisp and Parker pear trees in 2021. They have grown nicely so far and we had 2-3 fruit last year. Hoping for a good year this season! Looking forward to more of your videos!

[@BrokenGround]

Thanks for watching! Yes, hoping you have a good yield this year too! They will really take off at about year 4 or 5!

[@MyBacktrail]

I'm directly west of you by about 270 miles, west MT. I planted a Bartlette and a Collette last fall. They seem to have survived but no buds yet. I get most of my trees and bushes from Starks but will look for a nursery in Missoula. Do you have any videos or comments about growing plums in this climate? I planted a Santa Rosa last fall, but now I'm thinking about planting a couple native plums. Any other native trees that you recommend in a permaculture context? Also, are the serviceberries where you live as tasteless and mealy as mine? They grow like weeds here, I keep some of them for the birds.

[@BrokenGround]

Thanks for your question. I think planting American plums would be a great idea. They are drought tolerant and can be quite prolific in terms of their yields. I don't have any videos (yet!) related to plum growing but plums (even non-native ones) are very common in Montana. As to your other question - my serviceberries taste really good, I don't find mine to be mealy, though I have the Regent cultivar, so that might be why. In terms of other trees I'd recommend - Black Hawthorn would be good (medicinal, habitat). Some of our native trees are quite large so it would depend on your space. In terms of shrubs - buffaloberry (n-fixer, edible), blue elderberry (medicinal, habitat, berries for us and the birds), Lewis’s mock orange would be bigger shrubs I would recommend.

[@MyBacktrail]

@@BrokenGround Thx, I'll look into some of those, especially the buffaloberry and black hawthorn. I might've mentioned that all my serviceberries are wild, not a cultivar. I already have the wild blue elderberry growing which I told you about earlier, and I planted a John's and an Adams's elderberry from Starks and they are already taking off like crazy. I can recommend those for you if you are interested. I have a delivery coming from Burnt Ridge Nursery of Siberian Pea Shrubs and Seaberry. As far as space, I have 20 acres, mostly wooded. So space is not an issue, the issue is how far I want to go from Zone 1, where I can easily water. The other issue is how to keep my Husky from digging my plants up, lol.

[@BrokenGround]

@@MyBacktrail Yes! Dogs digging up plants can certainly be an issue!