So, the issue of the week is the fact that I have a few apple trees in different parts of the county that all seem to be losing their leaves, but the apples are still on the tree. My first thought was a blight or fungus that effected the leaves, but there is no sign of a fungus.

Apple Scab is a fungal disease would be the top match for leaves browning and dropping in August while fruit remains on the tree. Symptoms start as olive-green to black spots or blotches on leaves (often after a wet spring). Leaves yellow or brown, curl, and drop prematurely by mid-to-late summer. The fruit will generally also get scabby lesions even though is stays on the tree. But my leaves didn't have any of those characteristics and the fruit is fine, no scabs. If it was apple scab almost any fungicide would work to take care of it. Daconil or Funginol are the strongest chemical fungicide and copper and sulfur sprays would be the strongest organics.

There wasn't any insect damage that would account for the leaf drop either, so the only other option would be stress from drought or heat. We haven't had any major hot weather this summer. None of those hundred degree weeks like we have had in past summers, so I ruled out heat stress, that leaves me with drought. Drought! How could that be when it seems every other week there are flood watches issued for our area?

Well, while parts of our area have been hammered with rain, other parts have not. I never really noticed, but I haven't been mowing my lawn nearly as often as usual, only mowing about every other week to three weeks. That is a sign that the ground could be dry, but the real sign was when I planted a few shrubs this week and found the ground to be powder. Besides hitting a bunch of rocks, the soil was powdery and just slid off the shovel. Dry ground is the most likely culprit for why my apples have almost no leaves yet. So, if you are seeing a similar situation on your apple trees, with leaf drop but the fruit is fine, it could be dry ground. This is probably only affecting twenty to thirty percent of the area in Sullivan County, but I know Eldred is one of those areas.

With the cooler (almost fall like) weather we are having now and the fact that I am watering my trees now, just like my garden, they seem to be shooting up some new growth. My garden and another flowerbed get a half hour of watering every morning at first light with a timer and they have been doing great this year. The hops that I wrote about last week is in the flowerbed, so it had plenty of water all summer. But of all my fruit trees only my peach tree, which is in the garden, has gotten watered regularly through the summer and it has doubled in size this year. My apples didn't fare as well, but at least I figured out the problem so I can avoid it next year. It seems that every year there is a different problem that I have to diagnose, one of these years, I'll get it all right.

The last note of the week, I was in the store on Monday to pick up some Sunflower seeds for my birds and honey for me and while I was there, I saw the 2027 Old Farmer's Almanac's had come in. Last year it was announced that the Almanac's would stop putting in the twelve-month forecast, which is the only reason most people buy the almanac. I am happy to report the weather forecasts are still there for the twelve months starting in October 2026 to September 2027. I'm not going to spoil the surprise of what the weather will be like this winter, you'll just have to go in and get one for yourself.