September 2020 - 27

NOTES FROM THE FARM
Apple crop takes a hit; another way to bug me
JERRY MILLS
Mills Apple Farm
jerry@millsapplefarm.com
so small; several can occupy a single
pore.
No one knows where they came
We will have limited apple picking
this year. The season arrived with the
best-looking crop ever. A little cedar
apple rust but no scab, fire blight,
codling moth, sooty blotch or flyspeck
- things that usually plague us.
Nor was there any sign of the lesser
threats. There was plenty of moisture,
perhaps too much.
I sprayed as hard as I could and
with clean fruit; thought I did well.
Clean apples stayed that way
until ripening. Then, as soon as
starch turned to sugar, rot appeared
and continued on each succeeding
variety as it ripened. It appears to
be unstoppable, the fruit mostly
unsaleable. Within 10 days, each
variety was or apparently will be on
the ground.
Perhaps the bakery, a wedding or
two and Christmas trees will see us
through.
I am getting tired.
Ants in your kitchen? Two kinds of
from but studies of human skeletons
dating back hundreds of thousands of
years indicate they have always been
there. They even have their own DNA,
which helps in identification of the
type of humanoid species they called
home. Their life span is only about 10
days. During that time, they emerge,
mate and lay eggs.
Newborn human babies do not
Clean, green apples, Aug. 14, 2020 at Mills Apple Farm, Marine, Illinois, just before late
season rots destroyed the majority of the crop. Photo: Jerry Mills
house ants, those that like sugar and
those prefer protein. Peanut butter
mixed with borax appeals to the latter.
We had both available and they clearly
preferred peanut butter.
Forager ants take the concoctions
back to their nest and pass it others
who make it into food, which they
distributed throughout the nest. I
guess that is why we did not find dead
foragers. They stopped for lunch at
home.
The ant population is so high in our
soils that I doubt if we ever completely
win the war with them, but they are
gone for now.
Speaking of crawly things, we are
not alone. Almost from the beginning
of humanity, scientists say very small
six-legged residents have lived in skin
pores of our foreheads, eyebrows,
eyelashes, etc. There are two kinds,
the demodex brevis, a minuscule
mite that lives in skin pores, facing
the bottom of the pore, feeding on
sebaceous secretions from within the
pore itself.
Its buddy, demodex folliculorum
mites are oriented the other direction
with its head towards the hair follicle
opening and its tail at the bottom. Its
menu is cast-off skin debris. Both are
have them but face-to-face nuzzling
by adults quickly changes that. Older
human with decreased immune
systems or other age-related problems
often suffer flare-ups. Itchy eyes, dry
eyes, excess debris on the eyelids, as
well as burning sensations in the eyes,
are common symptoms
I have all of these, so I ordered a
magic potion that is supposed to clear
them out. We shall see. Experts say
they are not necessary harmful, just
an annoyance.
Why do the mites die so quickly?
They have no anus.
Easy way for a grounded old man
to clean gutters. Use a pruning tower.
They said " no climbing ladders. " No one
mentioned pruning towers. Works great.
Stay healthy. FGN
Notes from the Farm
A collection of more than 15 years of
columns written by Illinois grower
and marketer Jerry Mills, experience
wisdom, humor and practical advice as
Jerry shares details of what's worked
(and what hasn't) throughout his time
in American agriculture.
GET YOUR COPY TODAY!
bit.ly/fgn-farm
FGN | SEPTEMBER 2020 | 27

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September 2020

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