Hi Friends,
We bought our property here in West Virginia in December 2017 and the previous owners raved about how much fruit they had harvested from the old Apple and Pear trees around the house. 2018 came and went away and we were utterly disappointed about not being able to harvest a single apple or pear from those old, neglected trees. Then in early spring 2019 we raised 14 ducklings and i dumped one load of poop soaked brooder bedding around the pear tree, thinking "maybe that helps", but over the year i forgot about it. Some days ago my wife came back from our mail-box and excitedly told me: »That pear tree is full of pears! I go get me some…« - This is the pear tree with some pears visible:
There is a lot of dead wood in the tree, that i will remove in fall. And i could use some advice how to trim a tree that has been neglected for years.
The base of the tree is covered with thick grass and the tree is standing on a relatively steep hill:
Should i remove the grass around the tree and try to level the ground below, i.e. build a terrace under the tree, to prevent soil erosion. Would used duck-bedding or compost be a good fertilizer for an old tree?
[More tree-pictures]
Any other advice highly appreciated.
We have canned a lot of the pears, they are not tasty when they come directly from the tree, but must be cooked and sugared. Is that due to the age and poor state of the tree or is that due to the "breed" of the tree?
Thank you very much in advance for your help.
We bought our property here in West Virginia in December 2017 and the previous owners raved about how much fruit they had harvested from the old Apple and Pear trees around the house. 2018 came and went away and we were utterly disappointed about not being able to harvest a single apple or pear from those old, neglected trees. Then in early spring 2019 we raised 14 ducklings and i dumped one load of poop soaked brooder bedding around the pear tree, thinking "maybe that helps", but over the year i forgot about it. Some days ago my wife came back from our mail-box and excitedly told me: »That pear tree is full of pears! I go get me some…« - This is the pear tree with some pears visible:
There is a lot of dead wood in the tree, that i will remove in fall. And i could use some advice how to trim a tree that has been neglected for years.
The base of the tree is covered with thick grass and the tree is standing on a relatively steep hill:
Should i remove the grass around the tree and try to level the ground below, i.e. build a terrace under the tree, to prevent soil erosion. Would used duck-bedding or compost be a good fertilizer for an old tree?
[More tree-pictures]
Any other advice highly appreciated.
We have canned a lot of the pears, they are not tasty when they come directly from the tree, but must be cooked and sugared. Is that due to the age and poor state of the tree or is that due to the "breed" of the tree?
Thank you very much in advance for your help.