The weather has been wet again for April.....and as of April 19th (today) for Seattle ...and I presume for Portland.
the forecast looks to be good next week, though, for us in the northwest....with sun and higher temps for the last week of April......well, then, we're looking good....we need some good weather.
So, I don't know about Portland, but Seattle has had some of the plums and cherry trees blossoming....and some of the pear trees are in blossom time right now, too....but what good does it do (other than beauty) if we can't get some warm temps and dry days?
for the most part the apple trees haven't been blossoming yet and will probably be blooming next week....
excellent timing for the arrival of sunshine......we need to have a few good days, if not weeks, to get some fruit trees to ripen and the pollenators to come out.
The beehive in my shared backyard died out and I don't know why....apparently many others have seen the same problem this winter.....the favorite hobby horse for people to blame for this phenomenon depends on people's predilections, but I don't think anyone really knows why....
We are discovering that the native bumble bee has been all along a very active pollenator but has been unappreciated......
As for me, I will appreciate some decent sunny days and then let the pollenators, whether native or not, come to help give us a decent fruit crop this season again.
amen.
Hi Don,
The bumblebees are great pollinators and I know if they don't visit my blueberries, they won't get pollinated. I don't know if anyone has tried to create "housing" for bumblebees the way they have for mason bees. Maybe the bumblebees need their own bumblebee activist marching and protesting so they will get equal rights? 
We are right about at average for Portland Spring rain. Yes, but average is a lot. I always try to get out and try my hand at painting if the rain is bad. I mean I use an artist's paintbrush to "be the bee". It's too heartbreaking to get almost none of one of your favorite fruits.
We don't need to agree about the reason for colony collapse disorder, but it is happening.
Have a good day,
John S
PDX OR
okay....an update on the weather since I last wrote.....the first couple weeks of May could be unusually dry.....good for pollenation but not for those hating the spotted wing drosophilia fly.
Here is what Rufus says:
"Farm Points: For now, the key issues for growers are, 1) early irrigation, at least during the first half of May and 2) if your operation is fruit based, an SWD program that will need to be up & running to protect early season fruit, should the warm weather extend into late May/June. >> This will be the first truly warm spring weather since the invasive species arrived in 2009, which may set up SWD impacts early in the summer that, frankly, we haven't yet experienced."
My note: This could also hasten the time of the arrival of the codling moth this month....more on that later.
[quote="John S":15ps9nvn]Hi Don,
The bumblebees are great pollinators and I know if they don't visit my blueberries, they won't get pollinated. I don't know if anyone has tried to create "housing" for bumblebees the way they have for mason bees. Maybe the bumblebees need their own bumblebee activist marching and protesting so they will get equal rights? [/quote:15ps9nvn]I have had bumble bees nesting in my yard in the past. They made a new nest in my yard this year (I had to destroy their previous nest 
). Perhaps through careful observation I can figure out what they like in a roost? I have researched this a bit in the past, something about being slightly underground and smelling like mice...
[quote="DonRicks":1ytg3gi2]okay....an update on the weather since I last wrote.....the first couple weeks of May could be unusually dry.....good for pollenation but not for those hating the spotted wing drosophilia fly.
Here is what Rufus says:
"Farm Points: For now, the key issues for growers are, 1) early irrigation, at least during the first half of May and 2) if your operation is fruit based, an SWD program that will need to be up & running to protect early season fruit, should the warm weather extend into late May/June. >> This will be the first truly warm spring weather since the invasive species arrived in 2009, which may set up SWD impacts early in the summer that, frankly, we haven't yet experienced."
My note: This could also hasten the time of the arrival of the codling moth this month....more on that later.[/quote:1ytg3gi2]
Yes, I have thought that the warmer temperatures would be "helpful" to the SWD. I have noticed that my raspberry canes are quite thick this year and I had meant to transplant some to another area to thin them out to have better access for applying my netted bags. I also ran out of bags last year and bought material to make more but I haven't done that either!
I just finished my fruit sox for codling moth on my Asian pear tree a few days ago and I noticed many worms and affected leaves. They didn't have many of the normal bites into the fruit yet, but get going! This rain may slow it a bit, but they're no good after they already have the eggs inside.
John S
PDX OR
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