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Care of fruit trees - spraying ?
I have a small orchard of 6 fruit trees at the bottom of my garden - 2
apples, 1 pear, 1 quince, 2 crab apples - all good sized and mature. I bought this house last year and the trees were in a sorry state - they hadn't been looked after for years, so i had a fruit tree specialist come in this winter and open all the trees out and generally give them a good prune. (I've also got a couple of big cherry trees too, but I imagine there's not much point trying to get fruit from these as the birds will probably win) Now they look great and the blossoms are almost all gone, so my question is what should I do to try and harvest a good crop this year ?? Some people say spray, others say don't...... Personally, I'm more of the preventative action type - if it will be beneficial to spray them, then I'm happy to do so. The question is - what for, and then what with ? I have heard about codling moths being able to wreck fruit crops, but how do I know if I have any of them ? any advice greatfully appreciated. Thanks, Alasdair |
#2
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Care of fruit trees - spraying ?
adm wrote: I have a small orchard of 6 fruit trees at the bottom of my garden - 2 apples, 1 pear, 1 quince, 2 crab apples - all good sized and mature. I bought this house last year and the trees were in a sorry state - they hadn't been looked after for years, so i had a fruit tree specialist come in this winter and open all the trees out and generally give them a good prune. So far so good. But for the first season I'd be inclined not to bother spraying against anything unless there are obvious signs of bad disease infestation. Watch out for wooly aphid since that is worth treating aggressively to stop it spreading and letting other fungal disease in but most other things just damage a few fruit. And the birds will probably have their share too... (I've also got a couple of big cherry trees too, but I imagine there's not much point trying to get fruit from these as the birds will probably win) You just have to be alert when they are ripe (or almost ripe). Locally our birds prefer blackcurrants and apples to most other fruit. Now they look great and the blossoms are almost all gone, so my question is what should I do to try and harvest a good crop this year ?? If they are large established trees you probably don't need to do anything to have more apples than you will ever be able to eat. Some people say spray, others say don't...... Personally, I'm more of the preventative action type - if it will be beneficial to spray them, then I'm happy to do so. Why spray unless you have to? Cosmetic damage is neither here nor there in home grown produce. Very few pests can prevent large trees from fruiting (unlike gooseberries that are martyrs to American mildew and a devastating leaf eating moth caterpillar). Careless pruning can make them fruit biennially especially if some are tip fruiting. The question is - what for, and then what with ? A tar oil winter wash isn't a bad idea if the trees are sickly looking. Otherwise just leave them to get on with it - much cheaper and healthier. You can afford to lose a few apples. Regards, Martin Brown |
#3
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Care of fruit trees - spraying ?
wrote in message oups.com... adm wrote: I have a small orchard of 6 fruit trees at the bottom of my garden - 2 apples, 1 pear, 1 quince, 2 crab apples - all good sized and mature. I bought this house last year and the trees were in a sorry state - they hadn't been looked after for years, so i had a fruit tree specialist come in this winter and open all the trees out and generally give them a good prune. So far so good. But for the first season I'd be inclined not to bother spraying against anything unless there are obvious signs of bad disease infestation. Fair enough. Watch out for wooly aphid since that is worth treating aggressively to stop it spreading and letting other fungal disease in but most other things just damage a few fruit. And the birds will probably have their share too... Laissez-faire gardening. Sounds good to me. (I've also got a couple of big cherry trees too, but I imagine there's not much point trying to get fruit from these as the birds will probably win) You just have to be alert when they are ripe (or almost ripe). Locally our birds prefer blackcurrants and apples to most other fruit. It's my first summer here, so it will be interesting to watch the food chain develop. Now they look great and the blossoms are almost all gone, so my question is what should I do to try and harvest a good crop this year ?? If they are large established trees you probably don't need to do anything to have more apples than you will ever be able to eat. The apple trees are both really big and probably 50 years old or so at least. There's also a big pear tree too. Some people say spray, others say don't...... Personally, I'm more of the preventative action type - if it will be beneficial to spray them, then I'm happy to do so. Why spray unless you have to? If there's no reason to, I won't. Cosmetic damage is neither here nor there in home grown produce. Agreed. Very few pests can prevent large trees from fruiting (unlike gooseberries that are martyrs to American mildew and a devastating leaf eating moth caterpillar). Careless pruning can make them fruit biennially especially if some are tip fruiting. The question is - what for, and then what with ? A tar oil winter wash isn't a bad idea if the trees are sickly looking. Otherwise just leave them to get on with it - much cheaper and healthier. You can afford to lose a few apples. A good way to look at it. I would imagine that if the trees all fruit well this year, then I will have way more fruit than I will know what to do with anyway. I need to research quince jelly recipes.... |
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