To Spray or Not to Spray?

We decided that we did not want to use any pesticides, fungicides, or any other type of spray on or near our edibles, years ago. We decided that we wanted our children to be able to go outside and eat anything they wanted to eat from our vegetable gardens, fruit trees, vines and bushes. 

I also didn't want to kill all of the bees that are constantly working for us on our trees and bushes and in the garden. We are loaded with bumble bees, honeybees, mason bees, and probably every other bee available in Western Pennsylvania. When our trees are in bloom they are humming, you can hear it as you approach the tree. I had never seen so many bees in my life till we moved here from a suburb of Pittsburgh about 14 years ago. 

Another reason I don't spray is because our chickens are free range, and I mean really free range. They go anywhere they want, except they are banned from the vegetable gardens and blueberry bushes for parts of the year. 

Well, anyway, what I have been trying to do is find crops do well on our property with zero spraying, and one that is really showing promise is the Asian pear. This year we had Hosui and Korean pears that were really nice, and they were completely organic. 

The Korean pears look almost perfect. I believe it is because their skin is russetted, which means they have a slightly rough, greenish-brown coat. Now this may make you think that they aren't as enjoyable as a smooth-skinned pear, but I actually prefer them. There is a contrast of texture and flavor between the skin and the flesh that makes the fruit more complex and interesting. A regular pear can be delicious, but these are even better.

I planted a Russet apple tree this summer, and I am hoping to find that the Russet apples will be like the Korean pears, bug free. I remember being able to buy Russet apples in the store when I was a kid, but now they are nowhere to be found. They were around in the 1500s when Shakespeare referred to them as leathercoats in Henry IV Part 1, I suppose they don't catch your eye in the store like a shiny red apple does, but if they can be grown pesticide free, they're the ones I'll grow. 

Here are a some pictures of our fledgling pear orchard and the Hosui and Korean pears. I also have some Chojuro trees, but they were more recently planted, and haven't begun to bear.

As you can see the pears are round, and both the Korean and the Hosui have white flesh.

Korean Pears

A "leathercoat" pear

Hosui Pears - They were'nt as nice looking as the Koreans, but they were great tasting and  far more free of insect damage than our non-spray apples.