I am pleased to announce that this year Is my first year of a really good blueberry harvest. I have six plants, and they’re all fairly full of blueberries. my question is, when
is a good time to protect the bushes with Net before Pests arrive for a snack?
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Once blueberries start turning blue the birds will start feasting on them. It really varies how much of a problem they will be. Some people can get away with just using reflective scare tape others - like me - need to fully net the berries and make sure there are no gaps for them to get into.
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Ok, and yes, I will be netting my bushes soon then. Thanks
For me (central nj) I am netting my earlier ripening varieties this week. Duke, Reka
My daughter eats them off the bush very sour so she competes somewhat fairly with the birds.
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This year I used those green organza bags instead of netting the whole bush and it has been a game changer for harvesting. I don’t lose tons of berries by catching them with the net anymore. The rodents that used to steal from under the net haven’t bothered the bags. I think the green of the bags is slightly throwing off the color recognition of my competition. I put them on as soon as the last berry in each group dropped the flower. Between the bags and the cicada’s pruning from last year, I finally have a good harvest.
The bags didn’t work for cherry or peaches but for some reason it worked well for mulberries and blueberries. It seems to be working well for my grapes too.
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Yes that is it. It is funny because I bought a test batch and they were good (I have a tendancy to not pull the red string tight enough on the white stronger bags). These kept out ants, etc.
When I bought a second batch I thought I must have ordered a different color because they were BRIGHT green. Then I realized they bleached in the tree very quickly. I actually prefer the bleached color because it blends in better.
I also like how they come in larger sizes and come off so easily for my kids. I put them back on after picking the ripe ones but even my little kids can take them off without wrecking the bush.
It has definitely helped against most bugs and the birds. The squirrel ate my one cherry throught the bag. I don’t expect most of them to last more than a year but with my “best intentions” of disinfecting the white ones that never happens, that won’t be much of a change for me.
Not sure how it is for you but for me a chipmunk managed to get tangled in a net that was covering the blueberries. Not sure if his goal was to get the berries as they were still very small
I use the O Bags (white - only color I have now)… on blueberries, blackberries and figs.
When figs first change to ripe color… I put a O bag on, tightly… and a few more days later when they are ripe, nice clean figs, no ants, no wasps, no jap-beetles, hornets, etc… works great.
I bag blackberries when red… and then pick nice black berries when ripe (no SWD).
You do have to learn how to tie them on very tightly… but it can be done and if done tightly will stop swd and tiny ants.
Might be a waste of time but I’m spraying mine with concentrated grape kool-aid. Supposedly something in it irritates the throats and lungs of birds when they get near it.