Re- evaluating bagging fruit

[mamuang]

I think my fingers are pretty strong but my fine motor skills are questionable. Gathering the mouth of a bag in pleat, hold those folds together and wrap it with built-in wire sounds easy enough. I watch Clemson video many times. I understand the concept but my execution leaves much to be desire s
I stiil have several bags left. I spray Surround instead.

I am not good at whip and tongue graft, either.

[Auburn]

I have been watching this Fall Fiesta fill the bag and was wondering if the bag would last until it ripened. There are a few more these and they aren’t showing any signs of ripening and this one might only appear to be. It is listed to ripen in October. The grands and I will share it tomorrow. The bag worked well but was undersized.

[mamuang]

Bill,
My very large Honey Crisp could not be contained in a regular zip lock bags. I just let them be, with the mouths of the bags split open. By then, except for squirrels, no bugs bother them.

[mamuang]

I think I posted a pic in the past that organza bags do not prevent pest like Oriental Fruit Moth or plum curculio from laying eggs or boring holes through the bags.

Today, I checked my Winblo peaches that I bagged. One peach was damaged by OFM (they have been actively evidenced by several flagging shoots these past few days). There were two holes, one on each side of this peach. The sites where the holes were made had gooey sap as the peach responded to its injury. I, obviously did not spray Surround in time for it.

I have only 3 Winblo peaches that set this year. I have two other trees full of PF24C and the Autumn Star peaches. That @#$&#! had to attack my Winblo.

[Auburn]

While looking over my bagged pears today I noticed this Ayers looking ripe. It lifted off easily. Not all my bagged fruit come out this well.

[irby]

Looks wonderful @Auburn! I have a graft of your Ayers going from last year. Do you chill this one for a while before eating?

[Auburn]

If your careful/lucky at when to pick they are good straight from the tree.

[mamuang]

I hope my Ayers will flower next year. Good to hear first hand account of its quality.

[clarkinks]

@Auburn
Ayers is not quick to fruit in my experience Bill. How long has that one been growing? I have a tree nearing 8 years old on callery that has not flowered once. I have a tree that flowered it’s first year and not since then.

[Auburn]

These pears are off a multiple grafted variety on Callery root that is about eight years old. I had a pretty rough spring with cold snaps and all my Ayers dropped from my dwarf root tree with Ayers. The Ayers has been slow to fruit for me also but appears to be one of the disease resistant varieties.

[Auburn]

I think a lot of people will like Ayers because it is very sweet but I like a more complex taste.

[barry]

Footies do not stop pickle worms from getting into muskmelons.

[ltilton]

I wonder if ziplocks would work

[barry]

Tried that last year. That seemed to slow them down but they did chew through one of them. The bags got pretty gross with moisture so I was hoping hosiery would work.

[ltilton]

I’ve been ziplokking melons and squash for a while now

[patrick]

Update 2018 season.
My nylon bag solution (see above #74, Sept 17th) worked for two years.
I was happy and confident. However, this year 2018 something discovered my guise and attacked all the apples on all the trees and I think it was squirrels.
Point is, my solution has now failed. With the above nylon heavy mesh bags, I beat the insects and diseases, but the critters now have beaten me.

[Ahmad]

My experience too. Only solution to squirrels is to eliminate them (traps) or exclude them (green house). Not sure if animals (dog or cat) can be used to effectively fend them off.

[tonyOmahaz5]

I went out and bagged about 50 apples for my children to take home in the Fall. I am a Jujube guy now.

Tony

[mamuang]

Tony,
I can’t tell how big you cut off the bottom two corners. You need to cut them big. Otherwise, your apples would not have enough ventilation. They could be cooked in Nebraska hot sun.

I cut them this much.

[tonyOmahaz5]

I did a small angle cut on both side of the bottom of the bag. I will cut them like your tomorrow. I am at a nephew wedding now.