Chris Floyd

I need to apologize for failing to mention that they were two different varieties from the grocery store, one local orange-fleshed variety and a really sweet white-fleshed red skinned variety called Batata (last picture).

I piled-up 2 feet of several year old wood chips into an area approx. 10' X 20' and planted slips I had started in late July 2019. Mainly just as an experiment, didn't really expect much of a harvest. In late November after our first hard frost had bit the vines back, I decided to see how the sweet potato patch had done. I can only say that it was a great pleasure digging up the sweet potato tubers with nothing but my gloved hands. Total harvest was just a bit shy of 1 1/2 five gal. buckets. I also harvested half of a 5 gal. bucket of small, skinny tubers to plant for 2020. On a final note - we had such a mild winter, that I did a little snooping in last years patch, and I found quite a few viable tubers that made it thru the winter. I believe the patch has gone perennial, at least for this season. Excited beyond belief!

Thank you for that nice reply Darrin Goodman!
I migrated away from Windows about 8 years ago, have tried various flavors of Linux, but finally settled with Linux Mint for stability and ease of use.
The biggest reply I seem get from people is that if it is free software, then it must be no good.
I gave just about given-up trying to dispel this myth!!!
The reason that I settled with the Mint distro was the way it only defaults to stable updates unless the user modifies the default settings.
Plus it is wonderful to be able to truly customize your device to what pleases you, not to mention no time wasted having to constantly do security checks and updates.
I have been able to get whatever software I have needed to do most of what I want do do in Linux, the only exception I find is in the games, not so good here.
Give it a few years and hopefully this will not be as big of an issue.
I will admit that I have run into a few Linux geeks that were not too nice to me as a newbie, but they were the exception as I have received enormous help from some very kind individuals when I did run into problems.
Just be aware that just like learning to ride a bicycle or rollerskating, there is always a learning curve.
I do keep a dual-boot Linux/Windows XP laptop and a Windows 7 desktop just for the stuff that I occasionally get that will only work with Windows.
(like the recent MRI disk which I discovered did not work with Linux!)
FYI - I did not start messing with computers until I was 45 years of age, and my 76 year old mother-in-law uses an old XP laptop that I converted over to Linux Mint just fine!
So, please people, keep an open mind before you start bashing Linux - it is not as bad as some would have you want to believe.

Hi Paul,
I am not an expert by any means, but want to pass this on for all us Linux newbies.
Open up a terminal window and copy and paste the following as stated to get your Linux system to do an automated file system check which is not turned-on by default.

1. To force filesystem check for every 30 mounts, run the following command.

sudo tune2fs -c 30 /dev/sda1

2. To force filesystem check for every 3 months, run the following command.

sudo tune2fs -i 3m /dev/sda1

3. To verify that newly added filesystem check conditions are set properly, run the following command.

sudo tune2fs -l /dev/sda1

4. From tune2fs output, you can see not only the filesystem state (clean or not), but also parameters that are related to filesystem checks.
"Maximum mount count" parameter is the number of mounts after which the filesystem check gets triggered.
"Check interval" parameter shows the maximum time between two filesystem checks.
On most Linux distros, these parameters are not set by default, meaning no regular filesystem checks are occurring.

*note* I got this information from a Linux forum, and kept it in a text file.

I put this on every Linux install I do, only I changed mine to every 1 month.
Please note that where it says "/dev/sda1", this is talking about your specific hard drive.
What I am trying to say is that you need to pay attention to exactly what your hard drive is labeled as, and adjust the wording if needed.
I have a desktop with two hard drives installed, one for the wife and one for me.
Hers is labeled sda1, mine is labeled sdb1. So when I copied and pasted the text in terminal for my set-up, I had to change the wording to say sdb1 instead of sda1.
I did the same wording adjustment so I get a file system check every month by substituting a 1 for the 3 in the following command:
sudo tune2fs -i 3m /dev/sda1 (sudo tune2fs -i 1m /dev/sdb1 )
My set-up is in the brackets - hope you understand what I am saying!
Good luck my friend - I absolutely love Linux Mint and find it a great distro for us newbies!
I find Linux much more stable and device-friendly than windows - Linux usually works great on old windows systems.
I have had great fun wiping old XP systems and replacing them with Linux Mint - did this for the grandkids and they love it!
(except my 3 year-old grandson constantly modifies the desktop on his mother and I am constantly having to restore settings for my daughter when she panic-calls me!)

Ken W Wilson wrote:I mostly agree with the previous responses but want to add that organic fertilizer is a problem too. New growth is more susceptible, so the slower the tree grows the better. I lost a pear and several apples.  The chicken tractor was not directly under them, but too close.

I think standard sized trees can stand more infection.

I do agree that even organic fertilizer can be a problem if it causes too fast/too much new growth. I try not to fertilize the first 2 years so as to give my new trees a chance to establish a good root system. I accidentally caused a flush of new growth on a young tree from a too vigorous application of urine before the poor plant had a chance to establish itself - my mistake! I prefer standard trees myself, but I have plenty of room - others might not have this option. I have not done any experiments with dwarfing root stock yet so I cannot give an opinion on standard verses dwarf resistance.

I have been doing an experiment here on the shore with a cutting I took off of the hardy oriental pear that I have growing in Chesapeake, Virginia that had 3 years of fire blight every spring thanks to my neighbor's love of synthetic fertilizer and lawn. We had 3 excessively wet springs in a row that caused run-off from the neighbor's yard to flood my poor tree which I had planted in very heavy clay soil. I lost a bit over a third of the tree each year to fire blight, and since I was still in the process of large-scale sheet mulching, the growing conditions were less than optimal. The tree is now around 24-26 feet tall, soil has gone from wet and sticky to rich, black, and loamy. I have not had any more issues with fire blight on the oriental pear, only issue is it bears fruit on alternate years. As for my experiment here on Virginia's Eastern Shore, I initially mulched around my property with a foot of wood chips two years in row, planting melons in small hills just to cover the chips. Then I planted the oriental pear cutting in a spot of well-rotted wood chips and let it go. I was initially concerned about the high moisture levels and more than ample rainfall, but so far I have had no signs of fire blight, and this is now going on the 3rd year and the cutting is around 6 feet in height. I also planted a Fuji apple cutting that is 2 years old and just a bit over 3 feet tall. I still need to wait a few more years before they start to fruit. Last month I laid down another 6 inches of wood chips that were over a year old that I have stored in my overflow pile on the property. Lots of white fibers in the partially rotted wood chips and all sorts of tiny wild mushroom fruits that randomly pop-up in the mulch leave me feeling very pleased with my experiment. Since this pear cutting was from a known susceptible cultivar, and I have the same damp soil conditions, I must conclude that the beneficial microbes are out-competing the bad ones. As a control, I had another oriental pear growing in another part of the yard growing with no amendments or wood chips - tree was 6 years of age and fruited wonderful the first year. The very next year it showed signs of fire blight, for the next two years it progressively got worse, now it is totally dead. The only difference was lack of wood chip mulching. I leave this to all to draw your own conclusions. I NEVER use synthetic fertilizer and I believe in a holistic approach as the best option, even if I practice S.T.U.N. (sheer total utter neglect). I have only used severe pruning 10-12 inches below the infected tissue and burning of pruned parts plus bleach solution sterilization of all tools in contact with my infected patients. My only treatment has been heavy mulching of soil. In ending, I am curious if anyone else has tried similar experiments dealing with fire blight and any thoughts or opinions.

I know your original post was a while back, but I too had ordered some trees from Stark 8-10 years ago. One of which was a hardy oriental pear. I was living in Chesapeake, Virginia, zone 7b, heavy clay soil, prone to very humid and damp springs. When first planted, we had drought conditions 2 years in a row, then 3 consecutive years of very wet springtimes. The pear tree initially did good during the dry spell, then the wet springs caused severe fire blight infections causing me to prune over a third of the poor tree back 3 consecutive years in a row. I was heavily sheet-mulching the soil at this time every week with whatever I could get my hands on. Once the soil improved and the tree grew past 10 feet tall, the fire blight issues ceased. I would like to say it was changing the soil structure and making the soil healthy again that provided the solution to the problem. I realize this was not a very scientific study on my part, but I now have a cutting of the original plant over here in my present location on Virginia's Eastern Shore that is about 6 foot tall and growing strong with no issues from fire blight so far. The only basis I can give is the fact that I heavily mulch my soil and the pear cutting is surrounded with a thick layer of decomposed wood chips - lots of microbial and fungal life in there. While I highly recommend planting fire blight resistant varieties whenever possible, healthy living soil rich in organic matter seems to protect plants the best in my opinion. Artificial fertilizers, excessive watering in springtime, water sprouts, all seem to result in outbreaks of the dreaded fire blight. Cutting back 6-10 inches below the damaged portions and sterilizing of all pruning tools, plus burning of the infected plant portions was my general practice. I will have to give John Alabarr's milk suggestion a try - had a beurre bosc pear that did not survive the fire blight, but I made the mistake of not planting in decent soil and paid the price for my poor decision. I always thought that fire blight was endemic in the environment and outbreaks occurred when conditions favored it. When we were having problems with the excessively wet springs, we also had to hire a tree removal company to remove a 130 year old white oak that caught some kind of fatal fungus and was threatening to fall onto my neighbors property. Cannot remember for sure but I believe they said it was botrytis? I know I was heartbroken as it was perfectly fine the year before. I spent 6 straight years of sheet-mulching to change that nasty clay soil to decent rich loam, property looked like a jungle before I moved away. You will never go wrong feeding your soil. Good luck!

I had purchased several bare root trees and planted them in our property in Great Bridge area of Chesapeake. Heavy clay soil and swampy conditions were my enemies. All was good the first two years when we had unusually dry conditions, then came a very wet spring. My next door neighbors were synthetic fertilizer lawn enthusiasts, I preferred sheet mulching and horse manure. Flooding and run-off from their property were my heartbreak. My hardy oriental pear had an explosion of growth and a major outbreak of fire blight. I ended up pruning over a third of the poor tree that summer, an additional third of the tree the following summer, and was ready to throw in the towel. Once the tree hit 12 feet in height something must have changed, three straight years with no signs of fire blight. I want to say the massive amounts of sheet mulching I had applied helped change the soil structure somehow as I had started noticing really nice, dark, crumbly soil instead of that terribly sticky clay. I took several air layers from the original tree, kept one and gave away the rest. Now I reside on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, but the original hardy oriental pear tree, now 16 years old, is close to 24 foot tall, but only bears on alternate years. I have a 6 foot tall cutting here on the shore that I am anxiously waiting to see if it will bear fruit. I have some reservations on this cutting as it is not as healthy as I would wish, but the soil I have it planted in is still being mulched heavily due to lack of organic matter. Healthy soil in my experience goes a long way in preventing disease, as well as a good plant guild setting. Polyculture planting seems to create additional protection as "plant buddies" tend to protect each other. Comfrey is one of those really good buddies. In ending, I do believe that disease resistant varieties (especially if also heirlooms) go a long way in keeping our sanity in check. Gardening and Permaculture should be enjoyable and stress-relieving, not stress-adding. My growing experience in Chesapeake was a real learning curve for me - good luck!

Marco,
In my past limited experience with fire blight, it is highly contagious for those plants most susceptible. In my observations synthetic fertilizers, excess moisture causing unnaturally fast growth seem to trigger fire blight outbreaks the most. I now practice mostly the S.T.U.N. method (sheer, total, utter, neglect) as far as my plantings and guilds go. I have found it far easier to let Mother Nature decide what will thrive or perish. I know this sounds a bit harsh, but planting fire blight resistant varieties was my ultimate option. Too much valuable time and energy is wasted trying to get ill plants to barely thrive unless constantly attended to, this was stealing my joy piece by piece! If you have managed to not be attacked yet, then I commend you and feel you are doing all the right moves! Trust in yourself and hold true to your path - good soil, good guilds, (I love comfrey) everything you are presently doing in my opinion will be your best defense. I wish I could suggest a magic bullet, but I believe a good rich living soil is the ultimate defensive weapon - best of luck my friend!