I used to have rings too but removed them, which I now regret because groundhogs have begun chewing the trunks. Serious damage on one tree, minor on others.
However, I found the climbers could still get into the trees. So in the past I ran electric fence wire and tied the cages into the ground. That worked.
I have been thinking of doing electric fence around the whole perimeter instead of the rings. Just haven’t gotten to it.
@ZinHead That sounds familiar . . .
I will have to compare the leaves of the two and see if one is rippled and quilted. They are both very healthy. Originally there were 3 trees in close proximity to each other. Two of one variety - and one of another. One died. Again . . . I don’t recall which is which! (Those were the days when I thought I’d retain all that info in my head.) Nope.
I looked into solar power fence chargers - but couldn’t figure out how to run the wire from tree cage to tree cage. This was intended for my stone fruit. And it is all so expensive!!! How I wish I could have a giant ‘prison fence’ , run all around the entire orchard’s perimeter, that I could wire with solar electric. But even if I had one . . . that doesn’t keep the birds out.
@TrilobaTracker - How did you run the wire from cage to cage?
Am thinking about a perimeter 3 foot electric fence for my pawpaws too- have seen electric nets used around chicken coops and apparently grass doesn’t short it out. Lawnmower or weed-eater might chew it up, right?
Great question and YES I dream of a fortress too!
I did a couple of things to connect the rings. In some cases I just ran the hot wire through the air over to the next ring. (My trees are only about 6 feet apart)
This clearly creates an annoyance and tripping hazard, so in come cases I ran insulated “lead out” wire along the ground then connected to bare wire at the next tree.
I found some 2 piece screw-on insulators that fit perfectly into 1-inch chicken wire - that’s how I kept the hot wire off the cages. Then I tied in the cages to the ground portion of the curcuit via a bare wire run along the ground which guaranteed a big shock when the varmint touches the cage and the hot wire.
The charger and the wire and grounding rod etc did run me around $300 if I recall.
The quilted nature appearance of Susquehanna has been publicly mentioned by Neal Peterson, Timothy Lane, Blake Cothron & many others.
However, I’ve seen pics of Susquehanna in areas with high pH Calcium problems & the leaves end up flat with chlorosis on older leaves.
In many species: Calcium, Sodium, Potassium, Silicone, high pH, all tend to make leaves smooth.
And (Sulfur, Phosphate, Iron, Magnesium) tend to increase leaf texture.
So depending upon what is in the soil, possiblity of Shenandoah becoming slightly textured.
My guess is that it has to do with the ratios of nutrients that a variety absorbs & how its epigenetics get activated for gene expression.
Because it’s inconsistent across different environments.
Wow. Thanks, TrilobaTracker.
I thought that perhaps we could run it way up high - high enough to clear anyone who might walk under it - and to allow most vehicles to pass under it too. But that got weird. I don’t know a lot about all the gadgets for running electric wires – insulators and ‘such’. But I guess ole’ YouTube could get me started. ?
My problem is - I always wait too long. This is a project for the winter - before a lot of fruit tree work starts to happen.
We built cages over the past couple of weeks - with netting and chicken wire and bamboo poles and the blue tubing. I wanted to use PVC - but this is what my husband picked up at Home Depot.
Each cage that we put together - got better and better. But it was really really hot on the days that we worked on them . . . . and we weren’t at our best. I faded fast. I’ll anchor them at the bottom - and close up any gaps. This should work pretty well. It has before.
I don’t have enough paw paws on the tree, to make it worth the hassle, yet, for them. I might just bag them.
We only caged our favorite peaches and nectarines.
@Hambone - You mentioned the mower and weed-eater problem. I have a guy who cuts the grass for me. We have a LOT of grass. And, well, he makes a sport out of seeing how many nets he can butcher with his week-whacker. I swear he does!
I have asked him to please stay clear of them . . . and not try to cut near them. 'Goes in one ear and out the other . . . . . sigh. And it really ‘ticks me off’.
We like to use the chicken wire around the bottoms of the cages - as it tolerates more abuse. But, we run out sometimes . . . and I have lots of vinyl deer fencing - and so we substitute that.
Looks great! That’s not wilty, that’s just how they grow. It’s weird, but you get used to it. Persimmons do the same.
Finally seeing top growth on my air pruning plug tray experiment. I had dragged my feet on starting the seeds and realistically only had a few weeks head start. Great to finally see some of them rearing their adorable little heads.
I had actually initially planted them in taller 4" x 10" Anderson pots, then changed my mind and put them in the 18 cell plug tray to see what would happen. They had germinated at that point and the roots were just the right length for the plugs. These are a mix of 2 and 3 year old seeds with at least 90% germination.
Yep, that’s what I did. Knew nothing about it at the outset. It’s not too complicated really.
100%!!
My babies about to get a drink.
14 inch stuewe treepots cut down about 3-4 inches.
These should all be open pollinated JBG seedlings from my trees. Sowed in March this year.
Ah, yes. That is definitely wilty!
Definitely needs lots of SHADE until it adapts.
Soil looks like it’s very rich in Iron & Nitrogen.
Iron increases leaf breathing & loss of water from the leaf.
Nitrogen is very high osmotic, reducing the ability to absorb water.
They need SHADE asap.
Instead of doing that I grafted it
I have to start all over with the moved. Grafted 2 weeks ago and started to buds out. Hopefully I can have some fruit in 3 years.
Tony
Maria’s Joy
Wabash
Just peachy seedling called Central
Shenandoah
Al Horn
Just peachy seedling called Garage
West and I called Cherimowest because it tasted like cherimoya.
Neal Peterson unnamed paw
Just peachy seedling called East
Prima
Just peachy seedling called North
Kentucky Champion from Cliff
Summer Delight from Cliff
Halvin from Cliff
I don’t think that was the issue here. If it were too much sun, we’d be seeing sunscald symptoms. Instead, we see dehydration symptoms. I don’t doubt tuning levels of iron, nitrogen, etc, helps, but that’s like saying someone whose arm was broken with a sledgehammer should have eaten more calcium. Not to mention you can’t tell those things by eye.
I have this one too - it was great!
Best of luck with your “reboot!”
Can you give more details about the cultivars of
Garage West, North, Central, East? Like ripening season, anything that makes them different from other cultivars, parentage, etc.
Thanks!
I have a bit of electric fence too (perhaps overly complicated). Instead of just puting it around individual trees, we surrounded our entire garden/orchard/vineyard area with it. In our area, the fence is to keep out bear, deer, and fox. (The fox sometimes get in, but I believe via climbing an oak tree weaved through the fence)
(Sorry for the long picture chain)
It at least seems to work for us, so I hope this helps.
