Immanent Disaster!
Nov. 24th, 2008 03:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mdehnersThe Gulf Coast began to experience it starting about a decade ago and it's been slowly moving Northward into the Deep SOuth...with Grave consequences for Agriculture. It's something that few folks KNow about. It's called "Chill Hrs". A Chill hr literally is those hrs below 40F.Sounds pretty innocuous, doesn't it? The thing is, Chill Hrs determine everything from Breaking and Starting Dormancy to Blooming and sometimes even Ripening. If there aren't enough CH's, it's a lot like what happens if you don't get enough sleep. Decreased HEalth, Increased Infection, up to Sterility and then even Death. Two decades ago and even still on some maps I'm listed as having 650-700 CH's per WInter. Thing is,we've seldom had more than 500 in the last decade. What does this mean? Well, for instance orchards of European Pears and many Peaches are gone or pretty much Dead now. And our trees were considered "Low Chill". Just across the brder in ALabama and Georgia, their trees require 800+ CH's and they now are getting around 700. The crops are declining, Pest and Diseases are Increasing. It's a matter of time before their orchards go the way of ours....
The solution? Well, it's too late to reverse withinthe next couple of Generations. What could save the Farming families requires a level of Work that, Honestly modern farmers are used to. In our area where Pear and Peaches once grew are being Planted with Satsumas and Kumquats(for the Asian markets since most Westerners don't eat them...to their loss) and in a decade if trends continue, Navel Oranges, Pumellos and certain Lemons can be grown. It's that decade between when the Temperate fruits die off and the Subtropicals can survive the WInters is the problem. Either the family hangs on without crops for a decade or they do as Hobbyist folk like me do and cover them during HArd Freezes. A couple trees is easy, an orchard is a lot of WOrk....
What triggered this post? Seeing the Peach blossoms on Sprout from a dead Snow Peach tree on my property. The main tree finally died two yrs ago but whatever it was grafted on survive, sort of and sends up branches that bloom and then die. Normally, this doesn't happen until January, which is way too early for it. Today, it was Blooming.....
Truth,
Pat.
The solution? Well, it's too late to reverse withinthe next couple of Generations. What could save the Farming families requires a level of Work that, Honestly modern farmers are used to. In our area where Pear and Peaches once grew are being Planted with Satsumas and Kumquats(for the Asian markets since most Westerners don't eat them...to their loss) and in a decade if trends continue, Navel Oranges, Pumellos and certain Lemons can be grown. It's that decade between when the Temperate fruits die off and the Subtropicals can survive the WInters is the problem. Either the family hangs on without crops for a decade or they do as Hobbyist folk like me do and cover them during HArd Freezes. A couple trees is easy, an orchard is a lot of WOrk....
What triggered this post? Seeing the Peach blossoms on Sprout from a dead Snow Peach tree on my property. The main tree finally died two yrs ago but whatever it was grafted on survive, sort of and sends up branches that bloom and then die. Normally, this doesn't happen until January, which is way too early for it. Today, it was Blooming.....
Truth,
Pat.
