I have never stored in either - we store our fruits, squash, etc. in styrofoam packing peanuts. But my gut instinct says clean straw. It tends to stay drier and since hollow stems, retains more air. Wood shavings can compact and can also get hot and absorb moisture. JMO

Dave

I have a Keifer tree, will be interested to hear how this works for you. We can everything we have time to manage, and the livestock gets the rest. This does seem to be a major year for fruit. Our trees are so loaded the branches are breaking.

The first couple of years, I thought this fruit inedible because it was so hard. Now I appreciate it for its longevity and firmness in the jar, and I'm a little more patient so it has a chance to ripen.

I have to say that my Housi Asian pear tree has extremely juicy fruits. This is its 3rd year in my soil and the first to bear just two big pears. I picked both last week and was concerned about them being underripe. Nope, they were sweet, very juicy and not has hard to chew as some I have tried. I hope to have more Asian pears next year, as I have two other small Asian pear trees too. This year, with the help of a Q-Tip in spring, I hand pollinated the Housi. No sprays, no diseases, no insects. Love that kind of tree! Someone told me that they would not mature in time, but these were ready the end of September, and I would suspect even pickable back near the beginning of the month. The size was huge, like store bought too.

from 'Stocking Up' published by Rodale 1977 (the date is why I no longer would can with their recipes, but much else in the book can still be applied). This is what they say about storing pears-

"Pears can be held from 8 weeks to several months, depending on the variety. Winter Nelis, Anjou and Easter Beurre are the most hardy, with Bosc Kieffer, Bartlett, Comice and Hardy in the lower range.

Pears should be harvested in a condition that would seem to the amateur to be immature. If allowed to begin to "yellow" on the tree, pears develop hard, gritty cells in the flesh. They should be harvested when the dark green of the skin just begins to fade to yellowish green and the fruit begins to separate more or less readily from the tree.

Pears ordinarily do not ripen as satisfactorily at storage temperatures as apples. For highest eating quality they should be removed from storage while they are still comparatively hard and green, and ripened at room temperature with a high relative humidity.

Pears often keep somewhat better in home storage, if wrapped in newspaper or other paper. Pears, (like apples) should be stored as close to 32 degrees as possible and with a high relative humidity, ranging from 85 to 90 percent." Elsewhere they suggest dry maple leaves in barrels to store pears & apples but my guess is that apples would take more kindly than pears, to the number of layers required to fill a storage barrel.

I have also read that straw or hay over, around and on top works well.

Lastly, I recently read (don't remember where except it was on an Extension Service site), that pears give off a great deal of ethylene gas and makes fruits and vegetables near them ripen faster-not a good thing when a long storage time is desired. Apples and bananas are not a good storage combo for the same reason.

Stocking Up also says to never store fruit with potatoes, turnips or cabbage. Apple gasses cause potatoes to sprout and cabbage and turnips can transmit their odors to pears and apples (unless they are wrapped in paper or maple leaves).

Good luck with the pears, don't forget pears are great in so many canning/drying/freezing recipes, pear apple relish, pear plum/apple/berry jams, pears in syrup in the freezer, dried pear pieces to knash on or add to muffins, ooo and how about a baked pear tart... OH MY I'm jealous... no pears grown by me or anyone near me anymore.

Rebecca