North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Whipple, Andy" <ANWHIPPLE@TAYLORU.EDU>]

Dylan,

If the main problem you are trying to solve is plum curculio, and if
bagging your peaches and nectarines seems to work until a later point in
the season, could you not remove the bags part way through the season?
Others in the group will correct my misstatements, but is not curculio
pressure limited to an early part of the growing season?  If so, and if
for your stone crops you are bagging only to stop curculio access to the
developing fruit, then once that point in the season is past you could
safely remove the bags, having achieved the desired end of protecting
the fruit from curculio.

There's nothing like right-off-the-tree, totally ripened peaches.  If
bagging could reduce the curculio problem without introducing other
problems, that would be terrific news for those of us growing small
enough numbers of peaches and other stone fruit to make this
practicable.

Andy Whipple


-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Dylan Ford
Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 9:05 PM
To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [NAFEX] Fruit Bagging

Folks -

    The early part of this post is a few observations about my
peach-bagging
experiences last season. If you aren't interested in that - but are
interested in bagging your fruit, just read the last paragraph.

    I decided to try bagging peaches last Spring with what was easily
available to me: zip-lock sandwich bags. The local supermarket has a
damaged
package rack, where things are sold at reduced prices. All winter I
checked
this rack, and whenever I found a damaged box of zip-locks I would buy
it. I
have four peach trees, three volunteers from the compost pile and one a
purple-leafed seedling a friend gave me, as well as two younger compost
nectarines. The peaches aren't planted in the best spot, but they do set
fruit which gets completely ruined by curculio et al and then often
become
moldy blobs. As I thinned the fruit last spring, I bagged the keepers
(hundreds), often more than one to a bag where the fruits were close.
(After
nipping the lower corners off the bags with a razorblade for drainage,
air).

    The peach trees set different types of blossoms. Two peaches - the
red
leaf and one green - set very showy, large pinky-purple flowers
reminiscent
of azaleas, while the other two make smaller drab-pink blossoms. I think
I
may have heard that the flower type may relate to clingstone-freestone,
if
so I'm sure one of the experts on-list will say. The nectarines both
present
the showier type. There seemed to be a higher fast-failure rate among
the
showy flowered peaches though I thinned all trees heavily, but as time
went
on they actually outlasted the smaller drabs. All of the peaches and
both of
the
nectarines got and stayed wet, and all eventually rotted in the bag,
though
some of them lasted intact until they were in sight of the finish-line.

    I was wishing out loud that I had access to cloth bags, when my
fiance
(who is a lighting designer) commented that in her business they often
shipped fixtures with the necessary accompanying hardware in attached
cloth
drawstring bags. I had her research a source for me and she found one
that
actually is having an overstock sale on 4" x 6" drawstring cotton bags,
9
cents each, 200 bag minimum, + tax and shipping. A bit roomy perhaps,
but
the price is nice. The web address is below.

http://www.uline.com/browse_listing_202.asp?besc=cloth+parts+bags

Seems like a pretty good deal, if they do the trick, as I suspect they
would
be reusable.   dylan


Dylan Ford is the author of the proposal at www.ideaforpresident.com , a
website devoted to an idea that could provide an avenue to address
pollution
issues, food safety, social justice, prison reform and healthcare.


_______________________________________________
nafex mailing list 
nafex@lists.ibiblio.org

Reproduction of list messages or archives is not allowed.
This includes distribution on other email lists or reproduction on web
sites.
Permission to reproduce is NEVER granted, so don't claim you have
permission!

**YOU MUST BE SUBSCRIBED TO POST!**
Posts from email addresses that are not subscribed are discarded.
No exceptions.  
----
To subscribe or unsubscribe, go to the bottom of this page (also can be
used to change other email options):
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/nafex

File attachments are NOT stripped by this list.
TAKE STEPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM COMPUTER VIRUSES!
Please do not send binary files.
Use plain text ONLY in emails!

NAFEX web site:   http://www.nafex.org/