Eden revisited
Back in the depression years of the 1930s we had some neighbors who had been dried out, blown out, rusted out and had had enough.
They called an auction sale, sold their machinery and livestock and announced they were heading for that heaven on earth, British Columbia. They would grow fruit, apples, peaches, plums and cherries and wealth would be theirs. If the kids got hungry they could always pick a few plums.
I didn’t hear how they made out but I suspect they found the transition a bit tougher than they expected.
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In September we visited the Kelowna district and heard from a fruit grower that there is a substantial outgo before there is any income. He mentioned a mandatory program to control the codling moth that is financed by growers.
“We commercial growers never have any trouble with codling moth,” he said.
“We have more trouble with leaf rollers.
“But because of those people with three or four trees, we have to pay astronomical amounts to finance a program of releasing sterile male codling moths.”
The male moths are coated with a sexy scent that attracts the females but mating produces no offspring.
Controlling other bugs and funguses, irrigation costs, tillage between trees, pruning, packaging, transportation and taxes all add up to a substantial bite for the fruit grower.
And this year the long hot summer made for a huge but not quite as high-quality McIntosh apple crop.
So if you’re contemplating an easier life away from the ice, snow and uncertain rainfall, it would be wise to do some careful advance research. There’s a snake in every Garden of Eden.
