Photos by students in COMM 1318 Photography
September isn’t all about “back to school” events. Fall officially arrives in September. And that means it’s also harvest time for many fruits and nuts.
“Fall is harvest time for pears and apples, as well as pecans,” says Kristin Bingham, associate professor and chairperson of the SPC Department of Biology. “Other fruits may be harvested throughout the summer and many crops wrap up production during the fall season.”
Students in COMM 1318 Photography 1 last week started picking some of the pear trees that live in the gardens behind the Wilburn and Helen Wheeler Science Center on the Levelland campus. They practiced finding
interesting angles and closeups on their smartphone cameras while doing it.
Student Marley Nix says she was surprised to see pear trees loaded with fruit behind the science building. She calls it “cool” to see how many there were. Bingham says there are three types of pears in the gardens. She and grounds maintenance planted the trees last summer. They appear to be growing in a flat or horizontal manner.
“These trees were trained using a technique called espalier,” Bingham says, “a horizontal growth pattern suited for small spaces and along walls.”
These trees will be trellised, she says, to encourage their horizontal growth.
The garden space itself was revitalized as part of the 2020-2021 old science building construction project. Since then, Bingham says she’s been continuing to develop the space.
“This summer we worked on planting row crops,” she says. “If people want to help or students are interested in working in the garden, they can email me.”
SPC is not the only spot in the area where you might want to take part in the whole harvest vibe.
The South Plains Food Bank is looking for volunteers to harvest apples in its orchard now through Oct. 3. You can sign up online to volunteer as an individual or a group.
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