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
Friends of Pipers Orchard 