Six Weeks Early

[dinosaw]

My apples, plums and grapes are all where I would expect them to be towards the end of August, just goes to show what difference a bit of sun can make. Don't know if that's just me or whether others were seeing the same. Not that I will get to eat many of the apples, the amount that are wormed is terrible. Anyone out there who grows apples, what do you use to protect your crop, I've always tried to leave off insecticides, but it's looking like I might have to spray next year.

 

[MrsBiscuit]

Well I do grow apples, not very seriously, but luckily I have not had this problem. It sounds like codling moth? If so, a quick look at the RHS website is not very encouraging. It looks like you could try nematodes. And maybe pheromone traps but the site seems to indicate the latter work best in conjunction with chemical sprays.

Our fruit crops are also well ahead of where they are normally, although bizarrely we are now having the worst July weather I have experienced in 5 years. I have long trousers on :lol:

 

[dinosaw]

The weather here has been very wet for the past week, but it's been a bit of a welcome respite tbh. Hope things are returning to some sort of normality out there after the fire.

 

[Marigold]

i picked a big bowl of autumn-fruiting raspberries yesterday. I usually get a few by the end of July, but this year they're well ahead of schedule. Very few apples this year though, the trees seem to be taking a rest after last year's bonanza.

 

[bigyetiman]

Our raspberries are way ahead of schedule, and so are the blackberries. Our apples seem ok, I am reluctant to use chemicals to. The plums are looking good.
Damn squirrels pinched the figs off our new tree

 

[dinosaw]

I cut back the apple trees and the dwarf plum trees last year and they have reacted really well in terms of fruit produced. We have also noticed some of the trees at the borders are plum which we hadn't seen before as they were hidden by shrubs we have cut down. It's our first year with raspberries but have had a few already off plants that have only been in since March.

Damn squirrels pinched the figs off our new tree

That would have me in full on squirrel rage, you have my sympathies. We have two walnut trees and any number of hazels and are lucky if we get half a dozen nuts each year due to the bushy tailed scumbags.

 

[chrismahon]

One species we don't have here is Grey Squirrel Dinosaw- no rabbits either. Lots of lovely little Red Squirrels though which leave the fruit alone. Our figs get eaten by mice or blackbirds! At the moment our walnut tree appears untouched, although ants ate a lot of the grapes. We had so much fruit on the plum tree most of the branches snapped. We had this problem in England (self pruning!) and I used to remove most of the fruit early on to let the remainder grow fully and stop the branches breaking, but unfortunately we are so busy moving and tidying at the moment I didn't find time to do it.

We used to get a lot of worms in the apples in the UK, but carefully removing all the affected fruit very early and putting it to compost controlled the problem very well. Is that why they used to paint a tar band around the trunks I wonder?

 

[MrsBiscuit]

The weather here has been very wet for the past week, but it's been a bit of a welcome respite tbh. Hope things are returning to some sort of normality out there after the fire.

Thanks for asking Dinos, if I had posted on Sat I would have said all is well. Unfortunately yesterday it was hot and a fierce wind blew up in the late afternoon. We could see the smoke from a fire 15 miles to the South and by the time we went to bed there was a red haze below a row of hills, which didn't make for an easy night. They shut a motorway. When the water planes go over its like I imagine a war to be, they flow low and slow and very loud, but of course they are on missions to save, not bomb. Anyway, this morning it has been contained, but worse we have another fire about 15 miles to the west. It was the lead item on the news and there are 500 firefighters and 11 planes there. I am sure we will be OK but we are packed just in case. We had friends staying a few weeks ago and we were all on a coach back from the airport. It went directly through the 2 towns affected by the big fire and it is shocking. Most of what you see in the town is untouched, then you reach a bend or roundabout and suddenly the black charred earth comes right up to It, there is no rhyme or reason to it. You become a bit inured to mile after mile of charred forest after a while. There are workman everywhere on the IC8 which is our main E/W road, strimming and beginning to log the forests, although it has been shut again today. The sight of smoke is a chilling thing, but you have to get used to it and not panic or overthink it, which I am still learning. The big fire showed that safety is not always easy to obtain.

I think tar bands or grease bands are to deter a different type of moth or other pest, but I am not certain. We have not had ants on grapes, I don't know what to suggest for them but I know they are attracted to so called honeydew which is the excreta of scale insects, could that be your problem Chris?

 

[bigyetiman]

I thought the tar bands were something to do with codling moth but could be hopelessly confused, ( happens a lot the older you get).
Grey squirrels aka tree rats, absolute nightmare seem to be able to get into any feeder squirrel proof or otherwise. We now have Jacobi Jane squirrel proof ones which are spring weighted so as soon as the little varmints get on it the weight makes the outer casing fall closing the port holes.
We did have one meet a sticky end, he managed to get into one of our squirrel proof ones that had a very strong metal clip on the outer caging, as he got out the spring clip must have pinged back into place and when we got home he was dangling by the testicles quite dead. I can see all you squirrel haters smirking

 

[dinosaw]

Just looked up the tar bands (I'd not heard of them) and apparently they are to stop the winter moth caterpillars, no use against codling moth. I'm wondering about having a go at bagging the apples next year and seeing if that works.
https://www.growveg.co.uk/guides/protecting-apples-from-codling-moths-using-bags/

I did have a period of luring squirels into traps with peanut butter and then shooting them, but I felt like King Canute as there was always another one ready to move into the territory. Anyone partial to eating them?, I've never really thought it worth the effort of skinning and pouching given how much meat is on them but have heard they aren't too bad taste wise.

Are you in your new place now Chris, last I heard you were in the process of moving.

Sorry to hear that's the case Mrs B, fingers crossed that they keep on top of it.

 

[LadyA]

All the fruit here is well ahead of schedule too. The plums are ripening in battalions, it seems, and I'm picking and bottling as fast as I can! Trust dau and her husband to go off to visit his parents right now, so there's no help to be had! Well, I can tell you this much, the birds are welcome to the ones at the top of the tree! I'm NOT getting out the big ladder and going up after them. Anything I can't reach from the step ladder can stay there!

Meanwhile, I'm glaring at the apple trees as I pass by with buckets of plums, hissing "just don't!". But they are. I've already picked the first few. I'm just hoping to finish the plums, before it will be full on with the apples! Have to say though, I've never had trouble with wormy apples. I never spray anything. The only problem I have is one tree, which has the most delicious apples, I rarely get more than a couple of apples from it, because the birds, wasps and flies demolish the lot, right on the tree! It's so annoying, but at the same time, it does divert them from the other trees!

 

[chrismahon]

We're still moving Dinosaw. 12 van trips and 5 trailer loads so far with one more of each to go until the house is empty and we are moved. Had to stop because the unusual Summer rain here has turned the tracks to sludge so we can't get out, but we still have until 15th August. Next job is to move the chickens and coops, a complex process which we are dreading as it involves a lot of driving. A temporary enclosure will be built using poultry electric netting as the earth circuit and electric live lines in front of it. By next week we should be starting to move the birds we hope which means one living here and one at home- so then meals becomes a problem.

We have a lot of fires here in the South East at the moment, fortunately a long way from us in the West.

Good luck with the apples.

 

[bigyetiman]

Thanks for that I knew it was some moth or other. We had 3 squirrels roaming about after the one died the next day 4 appeared. Shooting them is the only answer.
Fingers crossed for you also Mrs B

 

[Minorcafan]

We use grease bands against codling moth but since the older trees have grarled bark on the trunks I have clarted on some sort of grease like vasoline which fills all the cracks (and leaves hands nice and soft!)

 

[MrsBiscuit]

Thanks both for your best wishes, there are 1500 firefighters across 2 fires on the ground now

'Clarted' what a great word, I haven't come across it before

OH makes spiced plum chutney which is great if you like a bit of heat in your relish, and I make plum jam as the acidity cuts the sweetness which I like. I am feeling quite jealous of you all. I haven't seen any squirrels here, but we used to have an intrepid hunter of a cat and he once deposited a squirrel in my kitchen compost bucket you must be a good shot, they move so fast.

 

[Hen-Gen]

Yes, good luck to all you Francophiles. On the news today it showed the fires raging in Italy and also the consequences of the water shortage. Fortunately not something we will ever experience here. It was 14C here today which induced profuse sweating after 15 mins work.
On a purely local theme three days ago we had our first night for six weeks. Though it was pleasent taking the dog out at 1am without needing a torch it plays havoc with your sleep patterns.