Friday 20 February 2009

I need your advice

... but before that, a Victorian bushfire update. The death toll is now 208, including a firefighter from Canberra who was hit by a falling tree while he was on the job. Wonderful people, who quite literally put their lives on the line for the rest of us. Please continue to donate if you possibly can, as the recovery is going to take a long time.

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So now, your advice please. As I've mentioned before, the wild backyard includes an apple tree & two pear trees. I've been reluctant to spray the trees, especially while the children are young, but haven't been able to keep the codling moth under control, so I will probably prune them back hard in winter, spray this year, and then continue with natural methods (unless anyone else has any great ideas! I'd prefer not to spray with chemicals, but I need to do something about it).

In the meantime, I have a LOT of fruit again. It's quite confused fruit, due to the odd weather we've had lately, but overall it's not quite ripe. And it has grubs. I'm reluctant to throw it all out, so what can I use it for? We're not big jam/jelly eaters, although I know the apples would be good for pectin, so no point making litres of the stuff.

So what do you suggest?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cut out the bad bits, stew or poach the good bits and either freeze or bottle it. The you can use it all year round for desserts, porridge, chunky sauces or whatever takes your fancy.

karen said...

Thanks Dani. I was hoping I wouldn't have to toss them all out. A friend will take some for her chooks, but I'll salvage what I can for us :)