Thark's Orchard Plan and Journal

[Thark]

I guess I can’t upload the video, but I caught the raccoon last night! He poked around pretty regularly, but only ever managed to get one nectarine. Thankfully only one night did he make a real concerted effort to get through the cage.

I’ve already pretty much harvested all of my fruit for this year. Weird to say in May, but most things aren’t fruiting this year because they are still new. I’ll hopefully have some grapes in July/August, maybe some of the Barbados Cherries or figs, but otherwise I think the next up is Oranges and Grapefruits near the end of the year.

[Thark]

Hey Resonanteye,

Thank you for taking a look!

My idea was to try and just have the posts as running commentary. I was going to try and keep my summary in the first few posts. I was thinking that way would better keep track of what did work and what I’d be doing next year. I have a few minutes this morning so I’ll try and see if that works.

[Bradybb]

Someone told me,they had success deterring raccoons,with bird netting,by bunching and not stretching it tight around the plants.They don’t like getting their paws entangled.

[Thark]

Well my idea to have a few posts at the top where I keep my current progress doesn’t work. I guess you can’t edit after a few days.

First, I’d had some issues with aphids. I have them yearly on the muscadine grapes, but they never seem to be a great nuisance. They’re mostly just on the growing tips. This year they’re actually pretty light. I’ve noticed more damage on the pluots and apples. I’ve been spraying with Organocide which seems to work well, but the ants were being quite persistent. So I bought Tangle Foot to try. First I tried with duct tape sticky side out. I may not have done it right, but that was a fail, the next morning I had sticky tape on the ground. Instead I cut a plastic grocery bag into 4 long strips and wrapped them around the trunk. Then I used another bag to apply the Tangle Foot. It worked pretty well. Aphids are all gone.

Also in that area I saw something exciting. It’s not mine, but there is a banana that is going to fruit! My neighbor has 2 bananas that look to be fruiting, right near my apples and pluots. I’ve been rather confused about when bananas fruit, so it’s interesting to see.

[Thark]

2025 Critter Protection Recap

What I tried:
Organza Bags
Bird Scare tape
Irish Spring Soap
Garlic
PVC cage and bird netting
Trapping
Wildlife Camera

The Organza bags were hit and miss. I bought 4x6 which I think is probably too small. Also it was a pain bagging every fruit and then double knotting around the tree, and then untying when ripe. But they did serve well to put the Irish Spring Soap and Garlic into. I think for something that is low quantity I might still try using these or the plastic clamshells.

The Bird Scare tape was probably good. This year I just cut 2-3’ strips and tied them into the trees. I did not notice any bird damage on the nectarines or plums. however they were also in a cage. An un-netted Mulberry lost all fruit (there were only like 5 to start with) but I never did see a bird.

Irish Spring Soap / Minced Garlic is something I’ll keep doing. I’m not sure which is more effective, but both seemed to create enough of an odor that I noticed no critter pressure until the fruit was ripe. Perhaps it masked the scent of the fruit somewhat? Most of May was rain-free, but when it did rain the garlic turned into a pulp and obviously the soap got a bit smaller. I plan to plant some garlic to use next year.

The PVC cage was effective. I started with a 1/2" PVC cage. That was very flexible, probably too flexible. I wasn’t able to get it to a full 10’ high. Also, one night I have a video of the raccoon being able to stand on the ground and pull the top of the PVC down to him. I bought 1" PVC, but was still unable to get a 10’ high cage. I tried several ways from the ground, with a ladder, and by sectioning the PVC but all failed. My next idea is to take a 2x10’ add some support to the bottom so it stands up and use that as a helper. One day soon I hope to see if that enables me to be able to build a full 10’x10’x10’ 1" PVC cage. The bird netting worked well. Nothing got into the cage. One nectarine was lost when a raccoon was able to eat it through the netting because it was pressed against the tree.

I used a Havahart medium sized trap and after some attempts was able to catch 2 possums and a raccoon. I let the possums go having no evidence of them yet being a nuisance. I baited with marshmallow and threw in the refuse fruit as well. I also ended up covering the trap with a sheet to make it more inviting.

I purchased a wildlife trail cam. This was a pretty good investment I believe. It helped me to see what goes on in my backyard at night. I saw possums regularly, but they didn’t do anything. One raccoon visited with some regularity as well. Most nights he’d stick around for just a few minutes, but one night he spent 2 full hours trying to get through the netting. I’ve also found a pretty big mouse/rat and noticed some cats strolling through in the early mornings recently. I think knowing what critters are active can be pretty helpful to combat them.

Overall this was mostly a test year for me. I didn’t expect any fruit this year. I also didn’t think of critters as an issue. They’ve never had any interest in my first fruit tree which was citrus, and in all my research (mostly the Dave Wilson website and other fruit tree nurseries) it wasn’t even brought up so I felt very unprepared. All in all I only lost one fruit this year which I think was pretty good (it was a small crop though, 5 peaches and ~20 nectarines).

My biggest takeaway is a new “invention” that I’m going to use combining a lot of what works well passively.

It’s like a “fruit bell”. I put the Irish Spring Soap or Garlic in the Organza bag to hold it but let it distribute scent. The Solo cup keeps it dry. I used a little twist tie to pull it through a hole in the top and secure into the tree. And the bird scare tape goes out the bottom to flap in the wind. I made 10 pretty easily and it shouldn’t be too hard to move them around between trees.

[Thark]

That matches my experience. I had some excess around the bottom all around and the raccoon to my eye never tried climbing up the netting. He’d snoop around, push a little, try to climb the supports, etc. I was glad he never just tried to bull his way through, perhaps because of what you mention.

[Thark]

I was reading a thread about tropical and exotic fruits and had the idea to check a local whole foods. I was really impressed by the variety. I was mostly interested in getting a cherimoya and had been seeing them online for like 200+ to get a box overnight mailed. When I saw they might have some I wanted to check it out.

Sure enough I was able to find some! I ended up getting a whole lot of things to try.

First I tried one of the cherimoya. I thought it was ripe, and it had been punctured in the bag by one of the other fruits.

I had thought it might be more like a ripe avocado, but it was more similar in texture to an unripe pear. It was still sort of firm. The outer area near the skin tasted the best, around the seeds was kind of brown. Maybe it was under or over ripe? My daughter didn’t want any more than one bite and my wife gagged on it. I ate it all, but it was only OK. It was very sweet, but kind of hard to eat and not really memorable.

Next I tried the Guava.

This was about what I expected. Texture was like a firm or unripe pear, not terribly flavorful, but very fragrant. It had a bit of a tartness to it, a little like a lime. The seeds took me by surprise. I had thought they’d be more like pepper seeds and didn’t realize they were tiny and hard! I learned to bite softly.

The last one of the morning was a Honey Mango. This was my favorite. It was quite ripe, even maybe a little over-ripe? Not that I’m a mango expert but usually I peel off the skin and on this one I had to cut it off. It was soft and very sweet with good flavor.

[Thark]

Today I had a kiwano for breakfast. It looks quite aggressive for a fruit. The fruit is a bit like a passion fruit in that it has juice globs around the seeds. It was kind of like a honeycomb to scoop out of. The fruit was a bit like a runny jelly. It is an apt description to call it a bit like a banana and cucumber. I don’t care for cucumbers, but this has none of their texture. The taste isn’t too strong. It was neat looking and interesting to try, but not one I’d buy again

[Thark]

My first Barbados or Acerola cherry was ripe! I think because it is potted it dries out occasionally (only takes like 3 days) and dropped all but 2 fruit.

It looks appetizing but was remarkably flavorless. I left the second one on the tree to see if it ripens better and gets some flavor. It had a much deeper red color today and a little more flavor. It was still pretty mild. It just wasn’t very sweet or tangy. Hopefully I can keep it watered better and get more. The everbearingness of it is nice if it’s true.

One other small success is that I finally erected a 10’x10’x10’ PVC cage by myself. I wasn’t having any luck until I built a little helper. It’s just a 2x4x8’ that I put some supports along the bottom to keep it upright and I added another 2’ section at the top with a notch to hold the pipe. I had to attach the vertical section, then put up the top horizontal pipe using the helper to go to the next vertical support. Then I’d put in that vertical support (with 2 or 3’ rebar driven into the ground) attach the horizontal and repeat. I can break down the helper pretty easily for storage and it didn’t take too long to do.

[resonanteye]

guava and cherimoya I’ll let sit out until they smell sweet before I eat them, it seems to help. buying from the Asian grocery they sometimes have them ripe or ready, but usually they need to sit a day or two

[Eme]

Kiwano is such a Halloween fruit! Oddly, my kids love eating it and are begging me to grow it, but from what I can tell, that will be pretty hard because they need to trellis and (I think) longer to grow than I have.

Correction- I looked more into this that the I had previously and we absolutely should be able to grow kiwano. Just a good trellis, full sun, and indoor start.

[Thark]

Yeah, I think it might do well if they marketed it for Halloween! It is odd inside and out. It’s not unpleasant to eat, but weird. I don’t know much about growing them, but they sure have a lot of seeds. I did save a few out of habit but have no real intention of planting them.

[Thark]

It’s a struggle to find time to write some times. My experiences with the cherimoya did get better. The first was not good, the second ok, the third was good. None were great though. The Guava I think I ate at the right time. I’ve been trying to write down the fruits I try to keep track of them.

[Thark]

I have 4 nectaplums that look to be doing well. I wasn’t expecting them to survive. I think I’ll see if I can get away without caging this tree and the repellents will work because it’s just 4 fruits and seems like a bit of work.

The tree also is in line for some heavy pruning. I don’t like this double trunk that it has going on but to cut it out I’m going to be taking off nearly all of the growth. It will help make it a nice open vase but will probably delay the growth with so much being removed. I will do the pruning of this (and all trees) this winter.

I did take the time today to set up a cage for my muscadine grapes. It’s not perfect as I don’t have the right connectors for 1" PVC (you can see to the left that it’s loose for a bit before another upright comes into the line) and it also doesn’t have the net secured to anything at the back. I imagine some birds might be able to fly in and out of the top and get to a few grapes, but hopefully the scare tape helps a bit. It’s primarily to keep the raccoons away I guess. Further down the trellis some of the vines don’t have many clusters so I just put clamshells around them. You can see I just did that to all 5 here as I figured it is easier than building another cage.

Finally, here are pictures of my oranges (first picture) and grapefruit (second two). They look like they’re in good shape! I’m hopeful that I can delay HLB for a few years and get some more crops in. I’ve realized I really enjoy growing Citrus as they don’t seem to need a ton of work and no critters eat them. I’d have a lot more if it wasn’t for the disease.

[Thark]

I found a box of “fresh sweet tamarind” at a store and picked it up to try. It’s one of the better fruits I’ve tried, but probably not a repeat purchase. The Tamarind is kind of like a big dried bean with some fruit inside. You need to crack the outside and then there’s like some string along the inside part to remove. The fruit is kind of like dried jelly. I’m not too sure what to compare it to. It’s good, not overly sweet, and thick. Each one was a bit variable and some did have some tartness to them. The process of eating is a bit of work though. It also has some pretty good sized hard seeds. I can see why it isn’t overly popular just because of the presentation, but it is certainly worth trying.

I also found a box of fresh Medjool Dates. These are good and something I would try again. They are easy to eat, dry without much mess, but they do have a big seed. They are sweet and have more of a mushy texture. As they are dried they are pretty easy to keep, not needing to worry about ripeness or storage which is a nice plus.

Mamey Sapote - This fruit really surprised me in a few ways. First of all it was big, like a coconut, and hard like one too. Then one day it looked like a deflated balloon. I was surprised how quickly it seemed to go past ripe. The flesh wasn’t too bad to cut. It wasn’t hard to cut in half and then I treated it like a pineapple cutting in quarters then eighths, then cutting away from the peel and slicing up. This also did a good job of removing all of the brown flesh that was overripe. Flavorwise I think perhaps some of the over-ripeness stayed as it did have a hint of unpleasantness which kept others from eating much, but didn’t bother me badly. It was very much like eating a sweet potato only I preferred this fruit chilled (maybe because I didn’t want it to ripen further). The taste is pretty much that of a sweet potato, and the texture isn’t far off. It lacks any stringy-ness though. I’d be interested in trying this one again and getting it at peak ripeness. The seed inside this thing was huge. I’m tempted to plant it just because of the size.

[Thark]

Dragonfruit - I think I may have let this one get a little too ripe perhaps. It seemed to quickly go from firm to having some spots on the outer peel. However, it was quite easy to cut and peel and all the brown came away so the inside was good. It’s a bit like a white kiwi, with the same firmness of flesh and sporadic small black seeds. The flavor is subtle. It’s there, but weaker than most fruits

Muscat Grapes - I picked up a carton of Muscat grapes, not quite sure what is unique about them. They are sized like the European or American grapes, but do have a bit of a thicker skin like a muscadine. Their texture is softer and more like an American or European grape, but then skin is more flavorful like a muscadine or scuppernong. Overall I wouldn’t know a difference if they were just called some other fancy new name like Cotton Candy grapes or some such. They’re a little different flavor than other grapes, but it’s the same fruit.

Golden Gooseberries - These are quite different! They are tart, and I think the flavor varies a bit based on how ripe they are. They are sort of sweet too, but it’s secondary to the tart and sour. They are not bad, but a little too different for me to snack on or eat more than a small handful at one time. They are kind of like a grape in texture with a lot of very small seeds that can give a little crunch.

[Thark]

Trying cherimoya was my whole reason for venturing out and buying all of this exotic fruit. I had found a few places online that were quite expensive, but had the idea after reading this thread to see what I could find locally. I found a whole foods which impressed me with its selection.

I ended up buying 3, for $13 each.

I think I ended up eating them pretty much left to right. The first one was punctured by the kiwano in the bag, so I felt it best to eat that day. It was OK, but honestly if I picked it up at a buffet and didn’t pay so much for it I’d of been done after one bite.

It was still hard and had an overripe or even rotten undertone. I think the brown in there was not good.

The second cherimoya was eaten 3 days later when I noticed it was sitting in a puddle!

It split on its own and I figured that meant it was ripe.

I pulled this one apart as well. It was a little better. I ate half with a spoon and later in the day ate most of the other half. The next day the third one was also leaking, but just a little bit and not a split.

This one was the best of the bunch.

It did not have any of the brownness of the others and was the easiest to eat. It was juicer and more flavorful. It was good, but not amazing. I still didn’t have anyone else in the house who wanted to try more than one bite. This one was not a chore to scoop out and eat. I think that it was a good experience, and I’m quite glad I bought these in a local store for $40 instead of paying ~$200 to get them shipped to me. I would imagine based on how popular they seem to others that I did not experience top quality ripe fruit and try again under other circumstances, but neither would I buy them in a local grocery store again. I’m also quite happy to learn that local groceries carry neat new things to try. I’m really hopeful I can get some figs, persimmons, or pluots this year to try!

[Thark]

Since my last post the nectaplums were robbed by a racoon or something when ripe. I was pretty sad. I tasted some of what was left over and acceptable to eat and it seemed like it was really good! Not caging the tree was no good…

I did cage the muscadine grapes and had my most success ever! No coons or birds look to have disturbed them. I did find a new issue though. These were all bought from Willis Orchards. I had good experiences with them. Only upon visiting this forum have I heard about issues. I had purchased 2 Bronze Tara and 2 Bronze Fry. My most productive grapevine is black and not bronze, so it’s clearly not one of what I ordered. The bronze one at the end is far superior in flavor. I don’t recall which is which sadly (I planted them A/B/A/B but didn’t keep track further). I think I’m going to rip out the biggest and most productive one and propagate from the better tasting one. That hopefully also keeps the male/female balance. I think I’ll start a post about trying to identify which is which.

I’ve had a good bit of experience trapping animals now in my havaheart trap. I’ve found personally for the best success that I need to stake the cage to the ground (coons drug it away one night), cover it with a tarp (coons dig under or go in from the sides) and use a twist tie to secure the bait to the bottom (coons drag it out and don’t get caught otherwise). Doing all of that I’ve had pretty good success. The last time we went to a barbecue place I took home all of the bones as leftovers and I’ve been just securing them to the back of the cage. My biggest issue now is that I catch possums most often. So far I’ve just been letting them go as I haven’t seen them disturb anything.

I started a separate thread about flooding wet roots

One of my cherry trees perished due to gummosis and flooding. The Nectaplum lost a lot of leaves. I think I’m going to need to dig it up and raise it. I may also try and do the same with my nectarine and peach.

And finally I have two figs, Violette de Bordeaux and Celeste that have small figs. Maybe I’ll get to taste them this year! They are both potted and potentially I will plant them in the ground next to the Panachee Tiger fig. Those paw-paws aren’t doing so well there.

[Thark]

Here’s a picture of my muscadine grapes I’ve harvested this year:

The top two rows are from the furthest vine. It is the least productive, but they are very large and taste great. The bottom row is what i have left over from the earliest to mature vine. They were supposed to be Tara and Fry. I don’t know which is which, but both are supposed to be bronze, so the purple one was clearly sold as a mislabel. It’s very productive, but you can see the size and color difference. It also isn’t as sweet. I think I will replace it with the other vine and have started to propagate it.

Unexpectedly I did get a Fig this year!

This was a Celeste fig that I removed once it seemed a bit mushy. I think perhaps it was too wet? To be honest it didn’t have a ton of flavor and I was a little disappointed. It wasn’t bad, but I think from some impressions that heavy rains dilute their flavor and that likely happened. I have 2-3 Violette de Bordeaux figs that I am also hopeful to harvest soon.

[Thark]

I’ve unexpectedly had a Banana flower. We came home from a trip over Labor Day weekend to see the flower.

That was on September 1st. It’s progressed a bit since then.

September 6th, the bananas are appearing.

September 10th

September 16th, the flowers seem to have dried up and the lowest bananas are kind of shriveled up. There’s still a whole lot on there though.

September 18th

I’m not too clear on what all needs done for a banana harvest so I guess I’ll need to research that a bit. I fertilized it once I saw the flower.