Feel like giving up on fruit trees

[mrsg47]

Harsh, but true. No spray (consistantly with a program), no fruit.

[dimitri_7a]

Having to deal with pests and disease is something a lot of gardeners and nurseries gloss over. Every single thing that fruits will have one problem or another unique to your area that you will need to master to succeed.

Blackberries and raspberries I need to net or the birds will get them all. You also have to trellis and prevent their spread if growing in a small space. Figs need to be protected for winter in my zone, they also split with rain and get stolen by animals. My persimmon is getting attacked by persimmon psyllid when I expected it to be 100% problem free. Etc. Etc.

Gooseberries and currants are the closest to problem free in my area, but I still have to net or the birds will take their share.

I’m pretty sure there’s a every 10-14 day spray regiment you can use to alleviate a good majority of your stone fruit problems. Something like Immunox + Captan + Spinosad / Malathion with NuFilm 17 after blossom fall. Easiest thing to do will be to ask your local extension office, seriously.

[speedster1]

Dude i feel like that every day. I’m in my fifth year orcharding and overall its been a very trying frustrating hobby for me. While I’ve harvested a few things over these 5 years, ive put way more work into them than what I’ve gotten out of them. This year i avoided the late freeze for the first time and managed to get decent fruitset. But the deer ended destroying about 90% of my total crop.

I try not to be Debbie downer but its tough.

[marknmt]

Yeah, it is tough. One year it’s bugs, another it’s late frost, then some years hail, drifting herbicides … there’s always something. It makes me wonder how in the world did America ever get settled!? But they didc it, and here we are.

[mksmth]

thanks again everyone.
There is a commerical stone fruit and apple orchard about 45 minutes from me. Some of the best peaches I’ve ever had. It gives me so much respect for them knowing the challenges I have here and they probably have the same.
I have learned that I will(must) do a better job of a spray program.
Mike

[mamuang]

Hi There,
Believe me, there are a lot of us here who have felt like giving up, one time or another. If growing fruit is not difficult, we would surely see people growing fruit instead of flowers

Most of us need to spray to get fruit, both fipungicide and insecticide. If you don’t mind soraying, you are on a good track. For spraying, it is both what to spray and when to spray. I choose a low impact spray sonit is more time consuming as it needs to be done more frequently.

In case you have not seen those options. I posted them here for you.

Low-Impact Spray Schedule (2019 Edition)

Here is my “low impact” spray schedule, updated from this old version - https://growingfruit.org/t/low-impact-spray-schedule/3610. This has been refined over about 15 years of successes and failures. My rough guide for low impact is no wide-spectrum poisons, which also means no PyGanic or rotenone. Spinosad is about as broad a poison that I use. I don’t personally draw the line at organic vs not, but this schedule is mostly organic and I will suggest some substitutions if you want to be 100%…

Spray Schedule- Synthetic Materials

Alan Haigh- The Home Orchard and Nursery Co. REPRINT PERMISSION FROM ALAN HAIGH REQUIRED Low Spray Schedule for Home Orchards in the Northeast Here’s my spray schedule for the scores of orchards I manage around SE NY adapted for home owners managing a few fruit trees. It has functioned well for me for over 2 decades, although J. Beetles and brown rot of stone fruit increases the number of sprays and necessary pesticides some years some sites. Stink bugs are also an increasing problem,…

[mksmth]

Thanks mamuang. Only issue I have with spraying is the timing and having the time. Next year I will be better at it.

[mamuang]

Yes. Timing is as important as what to spray. This spring it rained so often. When it did not rain, it was too windy to spray. My riming was quite off but as long as it will be dry 24 hours after spraying, I’ll do it.

Using sticker helps but I can’t use sticker whenever I spray Surround.
Struggles never end but don’t give up. You are not alone. We are here to help one another.

[alan]

You mentioned earlier that you won’t spray dew soaked or rain soaked trees. I do it all the time because morning is the best time to spray and also because I need to spray at every opportunity in the small window- I just make the spray about 30% more concentrated (I’ll be using that much less material anyway). I also spray in very light rains when the radar shows it’s about to clear and when rain is coming in a couple of hours. An hour of good drying time to set is all that is needed for synthetic apps- I don’t know about surround.

I have been told by a commercial grower that it takes over a half inch of rain to lose protection even when it comes before the app sets and my experience has not contradicted this.

I think a lot of hobbyists are too reluctant to spray in imperfect conditions. Some seasons you just have to take what you can get.

[subdood_ky_z6b]

My fruit trees aren’t in full production mode yet, so I can’t entirely relate to your issues. But, I feel like you when trying to grow vegetables, we had a storm blow through last night and damaged quite a few of ny tomato plants. It is quite frustrating to have to deal with so many factors when growing fruits or veggies- storms, heat, humidity, rain, insects, diseases, varmits like deer, squirrels, rabbits, it never seems to end. But, eventually we will get some fruit or veggies that’ll make it worth it.

I suppose Porter peaches are just getting into full swing now? Do you know if they ship any of their fruit to local stores for sale? My Mom lives nearby, and she’s coming to visit us soon, so I hope she can bring us some.

[Olpea]

@mksmth

I’ve ever had. It gives me so much respect for them knowing the challenges I have here and they probably have the same.
I have learned that I will(must) do a better job of a spray program.

I’ve had to spray once a week since shuck split because of the rain, except for the last spray I’ve done which was 12 days from the prior spray. It’s just been so much rain, the insects are blooming. Other commercial producers around here have been spraying as often this year.

@mrsg47

Harsh, but true. No spray (consistantly with a program), no fruit.

Around here we are forced to say, “It’s the pests or the pesticides.”

[mksmth]

Yes Porter is in full swing. Been a good year for them. I need to make a trip out. They do sell them at Reasors stores locally but I don’t know about shipping. White cloud and Red Haven is what I’ve seen them post about being available right now.

[subdood_ky_z6b]

Thanks. There’s a Reasor’s not too far from my Mom’s, so she could pick us up a few. Dozen.

I’ve checked their website, and they don’t list what varieties they grow, other that they don’t grow hardly any early clingstone peaches.

[mksmth]

They have quite a few varieties. They usually post on their Facebook page which varieties they are harvesting. I added cresthaven this year because sit was one of their only ones to keep fruit after last years late freeze (spring 2018). Seems like they don’t send any to the stores until later in summer.

[Faygo]

Ive been teying to raise a few fruit trees,myself…just two each,of apple,pear, and peach. But the one pear tree is the only one of the six,that has produced well.
I had a problem with deformed fruit,last year,and asked a local pear grower what he did about it.
He said - nothing. He doesnt spray, or dust. He says the trees are stronger when they form their own natural defence. Good years,bad years will even out as the trees mature.

[patrick]

@Faygo look on google images under “deformed pear viruses”
… one of my prior great pear trees (at least 15 years old) now has this virus. I think i introduced it by grafting branched on to it.
I lost half of an old apricott tree, half of a 25 foot high monstrous Windsor cherry tree, all of a fantastic plum tree, and black knot all over another plum, all of another smaller sweet cherry tree.
It has been a very bad year.

[dwn]

No don’t give up! Be persistent and experiment. You’ll find cultivars and a routine that work for you.

[RichSV]

I have it easy. Way too easy, no spraying (except dormant), squirrel, bird or significant pest problems. No rain here since May, none expected until October. It’s about location, location, location. I have a tiny urban orchard in Silicon Valley CA, once the prune growing capital of the world 100 years ago. Don’t give up!

[CRhode]

@RichSV

the prune growing capital

I don’t KNOW WHY I was thinking of this commercial by Stan Freberg before tuning in to GrowingFruit.org: Today the pits. Tomorrow the wrinkles. Sunsweet marches on.

[kokopelli5A]

I don’t have near the pest pressures you guys do. Year after year of freeze outs and crop failures help a lot.

I’ve become a big believer in the tried and true. If you have the ability to reliably grow citrus, by all means do so. So what if it’s everywhere? Bet blood oranges aren’t everywhere. Kumquats are $3 a pound in the store and a truly excellent, low maintenance small landscape trees.

You can grow small fruit? By all means do so.

I suspect that if you get past the organic thing and settle on a planned spray schedule you can get into a not-too-difficult routine. If not, there’s still plenty to grow.