Netted my Cot n Candy and Blenheim Apricot. Last year I ate a ton of half chewed apricots. Let’s see how it turns out this year.
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American nettings? what size?
Yup. 15’x15’ for the smaller Aprium tree. 30’x30’ for the larger Apricot. Should have gotten just the 30’ one.
wish they had an intermediate size - 20x20 maybe
Your tree is loaded! Looks great!!!
Thanks MrsG. Not as loaded as last year but all the more reason for protecting the precious!
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I only have a few trees mature this year. Fig I’ll definitely net. My Elderberries will fruit this year. I wonder if I’ll need to net them?
Have you noticed fruit drop after you put on that net? Also doesn’t that interfere with branch growing? I netted my peach tree recently and now I’m worried about it not being able to grow because the net is in way.
Depends on what else is out to eat. But they definitely will eat them. They already eaten my son’s.
Last evening I put the regular black bird netting over my black currant hedge. I started looking at the strigs of berries and realized the birds are eating them while they are green and small this year! So, out came the netting, held down by bricks and planks! The rabbits love them too!
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No fruit drops yet. It does interfere with the top branches but I want to remove them as part of my summer pruning anyway.
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Good quality nets like ones from american nettings cause little damage to branhes when y ou remove them.
Cheap ones like black nets from Home Depot cause like damages to the trees when you try to remove them.
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Netted the White Gold tree - it took two of the 15x15 nets. Trouble is that individual cherries stick out of the net or get caught on it, but I hope the loss will be much less than the loss due to damn birds.
If they do get into the net, they’re sure not getting out
The net does bend down the topmost branches, but like bleedingdirt, I prune those out anyway after the harvest and the Japanese beetles, who always prefer the top.
I wasn’t thinking about the damage caused when you remove it. I’m more concerned about whether it keeps the tree from growing since it’s sort of trapped inside the netting.
I use American netting. It does not damage any branches.
When I remove the net, those growing branches were leaning/ weeping. I prune my cherry tree to an umbrella shape so the bending branch structure fits my style very well. I do not need to prune off any new shoots, just bend them even more to fit my pruning style.
My trees are trellised. I converted from open center to trellised for just that reason - they are much easier to protect. El cheapo black nets work well draped over the trellis and both keep birds off and keep the tree from growing through the netting. If the netting rests on the tree, often aggressive birds will perch on the netting and peck through it. Removing the netting from over the trellis causes no damage to the tree.
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All of my trees are new this year except a lone mature fig. Guess I better get some netting:+1:
Yes, that’s exactly what I do. So far 15’ x 15’ nets were enough for my trees but I probably will have to buy some 30’ x 30’ ones soon. In my experience, apricot trees should be netted 2-3 weeks before the start of the harvest — this is when birds begin pecking the fruit.
I have one 28x28 net, but it proved too heavy for the tree I tried it on, and it cuts down on the sunlight more than I’d like
went out to cherry tree, saw that lots of the fruits have worked their way thru holes in the mesh, now sticking outside