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Comment by Sentient Biped on September 8, 2012 at 9:50pm

Those pears look great!  Home grown pears are really good.  I might add another pear tree myself.  Thinking about what variety.  Not sure. I want disease resistant tree that bears enough to eat, doesn't have to be a bushel full.  A multigraft would be good, for pollination, but my existing multigraft is not so wonderful.  Some varieties have tiny pears on the multigraft tree.  Not sure why.  The others are OK.  There is also a big difference in vigor.  But it does pollinate itself.

Comment by Joan Denoo on September 8, 2012 at 6:50pm

Idaho Spud, I've Googled: "light pollution, sky glow, light trespass, earthlight, outdoor plants and street & house lights, need for a dark period that many plants have" and nothing yet. I've asked a few horticulture and garening people but have not received an answer yet. 
That is a very good question. 

Here are things I found but they do not address your specific question:

***

http://gardening.stackexchange.com/questions/1484/what-is-the-effec...

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"Outside Light: Use Best, Not Brightest" by Desiree J. Hanford, Contributing Editor, Building Operating Management. "The author emphasizes that while there is some overlap, there are differences between lighting for safety and lighting for security in outside areas. Those differences have to be taken into consideration in the lighting design. Then, the environmental considerations can be addressed. They are listed as sky glow, light trespass, glare, and wasted energy. This is a four-part article:

• Part 1 covers safety and security.
• Part 2 is about avoiding over-lighting.
• Part 3 shows the advantages of lighting controls.
• Part 4 is a case study of an LED installation."

***

light pollution:

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/0011/earthlights_dmsp_big.jpg

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Comment by Joan Denoo on September 8, 2012 at 6:16pm

Oh what beautiful pears! Interesting story of the two colors on one tree. Surely it was grafted; do you see any signs of it? How do you preserve them? 

As to lights and plants, I can give you this so far; I will seek more information about outside plants:
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/poinsettia/faq.cfm

Comment by Idaho Spud on September 8, 2012 at 5:34pm

Just finished harvesting ~100 pounds of Red Sensation Pears.  Funny thing about that tree, about 30% of the branches produce green pears instead of red, although the flesh of both are nearly white.  They taste the same, but the green ones take longer to ripen.

Comment by Joan Denoo on September 5, 2012 at 12:07am

Steph, I gave a neighbor a handful of garlic as I was getting it ready to store in my cool basement, as Sentient advised, and she came over the next day and said she had never had such delicious garlic. I originally started out with 12 varieties several years ago, and they have all turned to hard-necks. So, I suggest trying whatever variety available and see how you like it. Remember to plant it in the autumn and harvest it in spring when it is time to plant tomatoes outside. I harvested mine just this week, and they are delicious, delicate, not bitter, and pleasant raw in salads or cooked in sauces. They are heavy feeders and I use well composted manure after the ground has frozen. 

Comment by Steph S. on September 4, 2012 at 10:52pm

Yeah your homes sound really nice Sentient - how nice to be able to get away.
I wish you the best Joan - maybe you won't have to move as soon as you think.

Comment by Joan Denoo on September 4, 2012 at 10:43pm

I haven't had a chance to look into the light situation, but it is an interesting question that I want the answer. 

Sentient, you Homestead sounds just wonderful and I like the fact you retrieved it. Your home in an "outer suburb" sounds inspiring, too. I know what you mean about putting sweat and blood into a place; my house was condemned when I bought it and over the years it has become a lovely home. It is getting time for me to move to my daughter's place because of health problems, but I am not mentally ready to go. I do hope they find me laying beside my compost heap. Just dig a hole and roll me in. 

Comment by Steph S. on September 4, 2012 at 10:43pm

Joan I will have to look into planting garlic. I'm enjoying the posts here- very informative.
Such a wonderful group!

Comment by Sentient Biped on September 4, 2012 at 10:25pm

Idaho, the 2 acres (I hesitate to call something so small a farm.  Homestead?) is 30 miles from my house in town, which is in an "outer suburb" area.  It's too far to commute daily to work, but close enough that I can go often.  It was a foreclosure, needed some work, and I live fairly frugally.  So I can keep both.   My house in town was also abandoned for a year and needed major work, which I did myself.  I'm too attached to the result of my efforts to give it up.  The "homestead" will gradually improve - I did have to replace the kitchen subfloor, which isn't as hard as it sounds.   And have the well and septic tank repaired, which I hired out.  

Interested in what Joan says about the lights, too.  I've seen trees here that have different growth patterns near street lights, or the leaves hang on longer in winter.

Comment by Joan Denoo on September 4, 2012 at 4:51pm

Idaho Spud, excellent questions. give me some time to do a little research. Surely there are valid answers to your questions. 

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