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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Who ate my fruit and wrapping and bagging

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  • From: "William C. Garthright" <billg@inebraska.com>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Who ate my fruit and wrapping and bagging
  • Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2007 21:07:01 -0500


Ultimately, since I have dwarf trees, I might try to make a wood structure with a small gauge chicken wire stapled to the frame. I had hoped to avoid this for 2 reasons: 1) I hate working with chicken wire b/c I always cut myself (no proclimations of grace here!) and 2) winter storage of frames.

Any other ideas?


My dwarf trees aren't big enough to produce fruit yet, but I was hoping to put a ring of 4' chicken wire around the tree, then throw bird netting over the top of the tree and tie it to the chicken wire (just looping a big circle of twine around it). I've been doing that with my gooseberry bushes with no problem, though they're probably not as attractive to the birds and squirrels. (The advantage with the bushes is that the chicken wire keeps the bird netting off the plant and away from the thorns.)

In this case, I'd be using the same ring of chicken wire in the winter, to keep the rabbits from gnawing the bark. I'd still have to store it part of the year, but it would roll up small (since it's not attached to a frame). And, yeah, I'd probably cut myself, but I'm used to that. :-)

I did have trouble keeping the squirrels out of my strawberries this year, but I noticed that they never did chew through the bird netting. They just found a seam, where two pieces came together, or an edge, and squeezed through. But maybe they would have chewed through the netting if they didn't have any other means of access? Well, I've got my grapes protected with the chicken wire/bird netting combination, so I'll see what happens when they get ripe. I assume squirrels like grapes, too? Last year, the cardinals ate my grapes before most of them had a chance to ripen.

Bill
Lincoln, NE (zone 5)

--
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche




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