Pears & Peaches

Permaculture-based consulting, education

and stock for today’s homesteader

Due to problems with our rootstock storage this year, we have limited availability of pear trees. All available pears are two year old trees in two gallon pots for $26 ea. Call for availability.

Pears: All of our European pear varieties are resistant to fireblight. Pears are one of the easiest tree fruits to grow under organic conditions. Many insect pests which plague apples cannot propagate themselves in the very dense pear fruitlets—their larvae are actually crushed as the pear grows. Thus you may end up with some feeding scars but have a perfectly fine fruit otherwise! Pears can take a little while to get established and get growing, and also are later in bearing their first fruit than other fruit trees. All pears grafted on semi-dwarf Old Home x Farmingdale 333 rootstock, which can be maintained at 14’ tall. Space pears 14-16’ apart.

Pollination: Need two varieties, all are compatible pollenizers with each other, though Asian pears are best pollinated by another Asian pear.

Harrow Delight: Early August. This is a fireblight-resistant pear that has a beautiful form and skin color. The neck is a little more elongated and fat, the blush a bit more deeply red than Bartlett. Otherwise, the flavor and texture are often compared to Bartlett. Gallon Pots—$16 Limited Availability in 2011

Seckel (Sugar Pear): Late August. An old-fashioned delectable treat in all aspects! Cute small pear that is a beautiful russeted reddish color when ripe and just full of sugar! The flavor is a nice spicy cinnamon/nutmeg like flavor, and the flesh is very juicy. Naturally dwarfed, will stay slightly smaller than other pears. Decent keeper. Gallon Pots—$16 Limited Availability in 2011

Shinseiki (Asian): Late August. A very early and refined Asian pear with smooth, yellow skin and excellent flavor. Crisp and juicy! Asian pears are known to be very easy to care for and have a more spreading growth habit like an apple as compared to the more tall/slender pyramidal form of European pears. $16 Limited Availability in 2011

Shenandoah: Mid September. One of the latest-ripening European varieties. A large, all-green pear with smooth skin and flavor similar to Bartlett. Stores well, up to 5 months. Gallon Pots—$16 Limited Availability in 2011

Korean Giant (Asian): Mid October. Also known as ’Olympic’, this is the huge, brown russet-over-green skinned, softball-sized pear one finds in natural food stores and international grocery stores. Very crispy and juicy, and long storing for a pear. Requires a long season to ripen—fine in our area, but no guarantees for further north. Slightly more insect and disease resistant than ’Shinseiki’. Gallon Pots—$16 Limited Availability in 2011

Peaches: I assumed that the soft, sugary, and fragile nature of peaches would make them a magnet for pests and diseases. However, with Surround WP to thwart the plum curculio and heavy pruning to keep an open tree, 2010 held an amazing peach crop for us. I fulfilled my dream to literally gorge on tree-ripe organic peaches (wasn’t as good an idea 6 hours later!). Peaches are quick growers and often bear fruit earlier in life (2-3 years) than most fruit trees. They are also shorter lived—expect 15-25 years from a peach tree. We have not noticed any Peach Leaf Curl disease on any of our peaches. All on ‘Lovell’ seedling rootstock which makes a standard sized (14-16’) longer-lived tree. Space peaches 15-20’ apart. Gallon Pots—$16

Pollination: All peaches are fully self-fertile.

Harrow Diamond: Early-season. Beautiful red striping over yellow background. Makes very sizeable fruit if properly thinned. Partially freestone, especially when fully ripe. This variety is more resistant to bacterial spot and brown rot than other peaches. A more blossom-hardy variety developed at the Harrow Research Station, so you’ll get crops in years that Red Haven will fail. One more good thing about this peach is its 2” wide pink blossoms in the spring. Breathtaking! Gallon Pots—$16 Limited Availability in 2011

Reliance: Mid-season. A popular peach that is known for its extremely hardy buds—this variety will bear in years that most others fail. Not as bright red as Red Haven, but it is freestone and very flavorful. Needs heavier thinning for large fruits. Very productive and has tolerance to brown rot though it is prone to bacterial spot (a skin blemish which does not affect fruit quality). Gallon Pots—$16 Limited Availability in 2011

Redhaven: Mid-season. The standard peach, well-known and asked for! Bright solid red cheek, freestone, large and exceptionally tasty. Has some resistance to peach diseases though we find it slightly more susceptible to brown rot than ‘Reliance’. Somewhat hardy buds. Gallon Pots—$16 Limited Availability in 2011

Raritan Rose: Mid-season. Beautiful, white-fleshed freestone peach that hangs well on the tree compared to Belle of Georgia. Gallon Pots—$16

Martin: Late-season. All yellow, no red. A fencerow find by White Oak Nursery of Lancaster County, PA who noted it’s disease-resistance. Gallon Pots—$16 Limited Availability in 2011

Apples, Pears & Peaches, Cherries, Plums, & Pawpaws, Blackberries & Raspberries, Gooseberries, Jostaberries & Currants, Grapes & Kiwis, Hardy Figs, Nut Trees & etc.