Anonymous
Forum Replies Created
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In reply to: Webbed nests on peach trees
That’s a helpful addition to the conversation. Should’ve mentioned…
I don’t foresee ever eradicating them, and I don’t feel compelled to do so. We live among a stand of hardwoods and pines that host a healthy population of these caterpillars. So there’s plenty for whatever feeds on them. I just think it’s good hygiene to keep them from setting up so numerously in the orchard as well.
Having said, maybe instead of drowning the web, I’ll see if our chickens like them!
In reply to: The cider-bush orchard
Just noticed I never responded to Claude’s reply to my question. So I’m finally making up for my oversight… Thanks, Claude!
Given your thoughts, I never did go to the great lengths it would have taken me to track down this book. Especially the note that it mainly deals with varieties that grow well in England.
Instead, I planted in a nursery bed last spring a variety of different apples that purportedly grow okay here on semi-dwarf to semi-standard rootstocks. Next year they’ll be planted out to their permanent locations. And then I’ll see how they do!
In reply to: Webbed nests on peach trees
You reminded me I saw a web of them on one of my apples last week… but forgot to deal with it. Will now, thanks for the reminder!
If they’re on a branch that’s not too big, I tend to prune it off and dunk the whole thing in a bucket of water. The caterpillars soon perish. But sometimes that’s not possible, so I just do the best I can pulling the whole nest away from the tree before drowning them.
I don’t think they’re a huge threat, but if you let it go, their population will eventually explode.
In reply to: Record keeping calendar system
I use a calendar notebook: “Elite Series (year) Planner Weekly”. It has the drawback that the days of the week on which a particular task was done (e.g. Feb 28 “Pruned Upper Orchard”), don’t correspond with the date. But it’s a small annoyance to have to keep in mind 2/28 was on a Tuesday this year when last it was on a Friday.
But I only started it in 2021. After about a decade, the space for recording tasks will start to run out and I’ll have to buy another paper notebook!
