Friends of Pipers Orchard

HOW   TO   APPLY    PROTECTIVE    DEVICES   ON   FRUIT

Let’s say you have just  obtained some foot sox and you want to know how to apply them.    Well, first of all, let’s talk about what you may apply them on.    The most usual fruit to put foot sox on are the apples.   The time in which you apply them will vary from year to year.             A good “primer” on application is the Seattle Fruit Society website:

http://www.seattletreefruitsociety.com/maggot-barriers

If you live  close to downtown Seattle, you might live  in a high codling moth pressure area and you  should think about purchasing heavy duty foot sox from the Seattle Tree Fruit Society or…..maybe even putting  kaolin clay on the footies for added protection.

http://www.homeorchardsociety.org/article/50/

Expertise is gained with time both as to how to apply these protective barriers  and when to apply them.   It is not always so very important to have a 100% “seal” around your application of your footie as it is to just make it so difficult for a bug to find its way through the footie that it is simply not worth it for it to even try.

Some  use cheap small rubber bands to sometimes hold the footie onto the stem…..or even a “twist-tie” over the footie.

Now,  foot sox are not the only “game” in town….just the most popular.

Fuji bags also provide protection and have a “built-in” twist tie up in the corner of the bag.   One may  actually prefer to use a stapler, though, and  staple the fuji bag over a strong supporting twig to make sure it doesn’t blow off (with the apple inside) due to the wind.

Small bleached paper sacks may also be used and they work very well at keeping both the apple maggot fly and the codling moth out….they just look a little “junkier”.     But the advantage is this:   If you have put the paper sack on a red apple,  the apple will not turn red while it has the paper sack on it.    When, a week before harvest, you take the paper sack off,  the apple will suddenly ripen……and if you have carefully put stencilled letters on this apple,  the apple will ripen up around everything but the stencils.

Hey,  be sure to take the stencils off before you eat the apple  !!

Insect netting may also  be useful for smaller varieties like blueberries or dwarf cherries against things like the spotted wing drosophilia and can be applied in many cases at a much later date…..but we won’t talk about that  here at this time.

Here are a few useful videos and websites as well:

http://www.ehow.com/how_6724528_rid-apple-tree-worms.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6jpga4_fV8

Well, enough for now…..if anyone has any additions to make to the materials I list below, email me at DonnieAppleseed@yahoo.com

DISPOSABLE FOOT SOX

1.  Locally, you can buy 144 in a box for about $10 from MacPherson Leather Co in Seattle.   519  12th Ave So.  /   206328-0855

2.   Justin Blair Company for larger orders    1-800-566-0664

3.  Seattle Tree Fruit Society    email  noilinda@yahoo.com  or

seattletreefruitsociety@hotmail.com

#2 BLEACHED PAPER BAGS

Merchant Paper Co. /  Portland, Ore.   503-235-2171     approx.  $14 for 500 (plus shipping).    You can order by phone.

Also,  Smart Food Service Warehouse Stores

FUJI BAGS  (or Japanese Protection bags)

Wilson Orchard and Vineyard Supply   1-800-232-1174     Approx. $15 for 100

TRICHOGRAMMA WASPS  (organic control of codling moth)

Planet Natural once carried.   Check with them.  866-349-0605 (?)

TWIST – TIES

Twist-Ease, Inc.     888-623-8390     400 for $3.50       (larger quantities are cheaper)  4 inch ties.

PLASTIC SANDWICH BAGS (for covering apples)

Supermarket, Fred Meyer, etc.   maybe 300 for less than $3 if you shop

SMALL RUBBER BANDS

Try a 99 cent store and look for small doll braids  (these can be used on foot sox

NEEM OIL, SAFER’S SOAP, SPINOSAD, BACILLUS THURINGENSIS

Organic sprays can be purchased at many nurseries like McClendon Lumber, City Nursery, Sky Nursery, etc.

MOSQUITO NETTING

Army-Navy Surplus stores

Seattle Fabrics  No. Aurora Ave.   206-525- 0670      $3/ yd  for “No See Um”  fine mesh

BRIDAL NETTING

Joanne’s has for about $1/yard if you shop.  Any Fabric store will have some outdoor netting.

PICKING BUCKET

800-232-1174    A cherry picking bucket might be $15  and then pay for shipping, too.   Wilson Orchard and Vineyard supply

Codling Moth Mating Disruptors

Pheromone lures are probably not cost-effective for homeowners, but could be interesting as part of a unified approach.  Wilbur-Ellis sells 400 for $120….it might work in a remote area.    You order at the Eastern Washington number but can pick up in Auburn.     253-351-6591.

KAOLIN SPRAY (Sometimes known as “surround”…..organic protection)

Gardens Alive   513-354-1482     5 pounds costs about $35 (and is mixed with 10 gallons water after you buy it).

Peaceful Valley Farm Supply  530-272-4769

TRAPS

Tangletrap can be purchased from many nurseries.

Great Lakes IPM 1-800-235-0285