In order to save spray labor I include a scab/CAR control in my Surround spray tank and I need to get at least a bit on all the leaves for that control. So, I get Surround all over when I am doing that dual spray. I could save a bit of $$ on Surround by doing two separate sprays but that will take longer. It now takes me about three hours to spray my orchard which is a long stretch of time.
My current Surround coverage is not so good given all the rain, but in observing the relatively minor damage I don’t think the curc is as active when it is actively raining. It has been near-constant rain all week here. In the middle of the week I hit the areas where I have been seeing the most curc activity, and there is still a good amount of coverage there. The coverage on the internal parts of the trees is also still good. As of Saturday eve the rains will lessen and I will coat everything well then.
Scott, I was going to include powdered sulfur in my Saturday night spray for peach scab as per your low impact spray schedule. I can get by with one gallon of spray for my orchard right now, so if I sprayed the apples, pears, and plums with the Surround, Spinosad, and sulfur mixture, do you think there would be any adverse reaction?
No - I have done that exact spray many times myself! In general nearly anything can be mixed but there are exceptions with sulphur/oil, sulphur/captan, and a few others.
For the Spinosad, I don’t think I will spray more than six times. If you do need to spray more, just leave it out. I would try and space out the Spinosad in that case.
I put just a few drops of dish soap into my one gallon sprayer, except yesterday I subcontractor the job of adding soap to my four year old, who put in way too much, maybe two tablespoons before I could grab the bottle. It seemed okay when sprayed on the tree none the less.
I use Bonide sulfur which is, off the top of my head, two to three tablespoons per gallon. I’m not sure how to convert per acre either. I would just try to avoid spraying the Cox Orange the best I could. Maybe make your Surround and spinosad mixture, spray the Cox, then add the sulfur and continue on your way.
For the amounts to add. Elemental sulphurs are all similar so something close to those listed will work.
I don’t count my spinosads, but when I look at my past logs its nearly always less than 6 without thinking about it. 4, 6, 8, something like that is good. 12 is bad.
In most conditions so-called sulphur sensitivities don’t happen, my view is it depends a lot on conditions. I just use best effort to avoid. Apricots they say never use sulphur on, it will kill the tree, etc, but I sprayed a lot of sulphur on mine and it didn’t make a lot of difference. I similarly sprayed many grapes supposedly sulphur sensitive and generally noticed nothing.
I use horticultural soap as I have a 2.5 gallon container of it (its my main control for aphids). I use around 1/2-1tsp per gallon, this is much less than the standard 3tbsp/gallon rate.
FYI, Anyone looking for the best price on surround I ordered some from Planet Natural for $52 shipped. It was $37 for a 25lb bag and $15 to ship FedEx.
the mental state a person brings to the experience, like thoughts, mood and expectations. the physical and social environment. Social support networks have shown to be particularly important in the outcome of the experience.[They are able to control or guide the course of the experience, both consciously and subconsciously. Stress, fear, or a disagreeable environment, may result in an unpleasant experience Conversely, a relaxed, curious person in a warm, comfortable and safe place is more likely to have a pleasant experience.
Of course, the dose does not produce the experience. It merely acts as a key , mood at the time. — the weather, social — feelings of persons present — prevailing views as to what is real. It is for this reason that manuals or guide-books are necessary.
— Timothy Leary, : A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead
Hort oil is good when the aphids come out. Other than that I am mainly doing sulphur. But be careful when using those two as you can’t put oil down when there is sulphur still there.
This year I am experimenting and for the first time am not using sulphur, instead I am using Regalia and alternating with a synthetic (e.g. Indar, Elevate, Eagle). I will probably be back with it next year but I want to see how much “wear” it puts on the trees. When it gets hot no leaf likes having sulphur on it a lot.
I use a Solo 485. I like it because its 5 gallons (more like 5.5 to the top really) and so I don’t need as many refills compared to the usual 4-gallon backpack units.
I received my surround from Planet Natural yesterday and sprayed for the first time today. I just used a 1 gallon pump sprayer with 2.5 cups of surround along with about quarter teaspoon of dish soap. Sprayed amazingly well and I ran into no problems at all. I primarily targeted the fruit this time and was able to get two coats on everything. Next time I will try mixing in some Indar or Immunox and spray down everything. Curious how well it will work against the upcoming jap beetle onslaught.
Well . I have never used surround.
But am " curious "
Just wondered. If anyone has tried , BENTONITE . Clay
I can source this locally for ~ $ 10 per 50 lb. bag.
It is commonly used for sealing water leaks in ponds. A drilling lubricant, sealer. Etc .
I have experienced it mixed with water and blended .
Very slippery , gel like (…snots ) hard to get off tools , hands ,etc.
Thinking of trying it on say a apple after bloom.
Much cheeper than surround.
Anyone tried this ?
Or other( even native ) clay ?
Surround is super refined to microfine particle size. Why it works, i think if particles are bigger the bugs dont get it into their eyes snd mouths to make them annoyed enough to leave
Some people tried various other things in the past and clogged their sprayers and didn’t do any good. Surround is actually pretty high-tech, new processes can make particles uniformly small like not possible a few years ago.
