North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[John Barbowski <jbarbowski@gmail.com>]

The wildlife in the States must be awfully intelligent. I used to get squirrel damage before bagging. For a two week period, the squirrels would come and sample an apple; one chunk and spit it out - no different than yesterday! With bagging, the deterrent appears overwhelming. I am tempted to try it on my peaches next year, as long as the winter doesn't kill all my flower buds. Bird pecks and wasp damage are also at a minimum - much much less than totally bare.

 

As for the zip lock, yes, there is an opening by the stem that I am sure contributes to some contamination. For me, the damage is minimal. I have removed bags that have half of the zip open and part of the apple is bare to the elements - the apple was perfect! It seems that the most critical period for the bags is when the apple is young and developing. The apple is covered and I suspect cannot exude enough of its aromatic 'nectar' to entice the little crawlies. 

 

When applying the zip lok, I have lost the odd apple because I slightly twisted the apple. But the lock is never so tight that it "bites into the stem". As for the "sail" effect. I would suggest that this enhances the stability of the stem. The fruit stem is made of similar material as woody stems. A stationary stem of an apple tree is definitely not as sturdy as one that waves in the wind.

 

JB

Can Zone 6b - just N of Toronto
 

 

On 9/19/05, fuwa fuwa usagi <fuwafuwausagi@muchomail.com> wrote:

What I fail to understand with the ziplock bag approach is how you prevent the tightly sealed ziplock bag, when applied young so to avoid spraying, from cutting into the stem of the apple as is grows.   My observation is a tight seal bites into the stem to such an extent the apples become vulnerable to falling from the tree in a storm, further agitated by the natural "sail" effect of the bag itself.  And it is clear that the insects simply crawled down the stem due to the slight gap I left on my apples, which was left as a direct observation of the loss I incurred the previous season due to stem retardation.. 

Very puzzled...

the fluffy bunny

 

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