Fruit Harvest from season to season

[imafan26]

Finally getting the first of the satsuma mandarins. They are late this year.

[Taiji]

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Getting apples now from the old inherited apple tree on a new property. That's the tree with the sapsucker riddled trunk. It was loaded with apples this year, maybe overloaded. But, just didn't have time to get in there and thin.

About 90 % of the apples have worms (coddling moth larvae?) So I take shallow bites of course I noticed in general the better apples are the ones that are laying on the ground.

If I pick one off that looks ripe, often it is not as good. The ones on the ground have mostly been knocked off by the birds, and have some pecking marks on there, but they leave quite a bit for me! The birds are really smart and the ones they sample are the sweetest ones! The redder the better.

I don't suppose it's possible to look at an apple and know what kind it is?

[JONA]

Codling has been bad this year over here as well Taiji.
Put a pheromone trap in the garden in early summer. They should get most of the males in the area. Then there would be a lot less fertilised females around.
Fruit that has been damaged will always be the ripest. It's the trees way of getting rid of such fruit as the pips may be damaged as well. Once any Apple has suffered a wound a chemical. ( ethylene) is released in the fruit so that The tree is persuaded that the pips are fully developed, so the fruit ripens and is dropped so no energy is wasted on imperfect fertility. Our pickets always go for the bird pecked fruit for instant eating.

[Taiji]

That's good advice, thank you. I will try the traps for sure. Is that what dormant oil spray is used for too? Moths? Does that work?

I forgot to mention that around here, (they say) we only have a decent fruit year once every 5 to 7 years, because everything is killed by late frosts. We always have the early warm up, then frost. But, maybe in this location, hopefully that won't happen!

[JONA]

That's good advice, thank you. I will try the traps for sure. Is that what dormant oil spray is used for too? Moths? Does that work?

I forgot to mention that around here, (they say) we only have a decent fruit year once every 5 to 7 years, because everything is killed by late frosts. We always have the early warm up, then frost. But, maybe in this location, hopefully that won't happen!

Oil sprays are used to ' clean up ' the trees in the winter months of any lavae and eggs of summer pests.
Snag is they also control the ' goodies ' as well. Over here winter washes are not used by growers because of this.
Codling would not be controlled anyway, as like Totrix moths they do not seem to hibernate In the orchards.

[applestar]

I brought in a handful of raspberries when we had hard frost and freeze ...was it two weeks ago?... And told my DD's, "These are the LAST raspberries for the season." -- Since then, I think I've brought in another handful of berries at least three or four times, saying "THESE are the last berries...."

[HoneyBerry]

Your sapsucker damage looks similar to the damage that was done to the trunk & branches of my lilac tree, which I thought was from a borer. Now I wonder if my lilac damage could be from a woodpecker rather than from a borer. Occasionally, I have seen a woodpecker pecking on my lilac. The woodpecker has some red on its head. Damage from a woodpecker seems like it wouldn't be as bad as damage from a borer, but I don't know for sure.

[Taiji]

I actually saw a woodpecker on the same tree a couple of days ago; I heard him tapping first. I picked up an apple off the ground and threw it up there; all he did was move around the trunk out of sight! I just don't have time to control them right now.

[applestar]

I suppose SAPsuckers might be different, but what I get on my fruit trees are chickadees, nuthatches, titmouses (titmice?), and downy woodpeckers. largest being hairy woodpeckers. All of them closely inspect and remove bugs, eggs, and larvae from the surface, crevices, and under loose bark -- and are welcome members of the Garden Patrol.

Gold and house finches, warblers and kinglets also join the fray when the aphids and other presumably newly hatching bugs are thickest in spring. The non-resident migrants also seem to pass through during the fall as well.

...

I'm actually harvesting some white alpine strawberries since I planted some in containers and brought them into the Garage V8 Nursery

[HoneyBerry]

I think my woodpecker is a good thing but I don't know why he would like my lilac tree. I don't think it would taste as good as an apple tree or maple tree. Perhaps he is after the ants. If my damage is from a woodpecker then I am somewhat relieved. I was worried when I thought the damage was from a borer fly. I don't have time to deal with it so I have to let nature take its course.

[imafan26]

I am getting bilimbi now. I am giving most of it away. I don't really like it. I am doing the annual topping of the tree. It gets very big in one year. I mostly keep it for the shade it provides and a place to hang the orchids although a branch did go through my orchid basket and I don't think I can save the basket. The Meyer lemon has small lemons on it which is amazing since the trees have been covered with vines most of the time. Calamondin has fruit nearly year round. I did harvest my daikon and I have a few left. I have to pull the basil, downy mildew has started again. They were looking good for a long time.

[Taiji]

Just a little update on something I learned recently thanks to JONA! Previously almost every apple I would pick up off the ground would have the codling moth larvae inside. But, now that I'm picking apples off the tree, (with the pending cold weather) I'm finding few with moth damage. I realize now that the tree spews off the damaged fruit first as JONA said, because why waste energy on seeds that the tree thinks are finished. So, it's nice to eat some fruit now without fear. (well, I don't wanna get too cocky of course, I still look after each bite)

[JONA]

The old saying still goes.........there's only one thing worse than finding a maggot in the apple your eating..finding half of one!

[Taiji]

And I don't eat them in the dark either!

[applestar]

I'm still harvesting the White Soul alpine strawberries -- only one or two once or twice a week, but I brought the 3 gal container of another plant that was out on the patio inside -- and it currently has about a dozen berries at various stages -- so we will have more in addition to the two garage plants, soon.

My DD says that we have to wait until the berries are absolutely ripe, and refused to pick more than three from the ones in the garage yesterday. She is right that at that stage, they are scrumptiously and mouthwateringly sweet with delightful fragrance and full strawberry flavor. They also get soft and mushy in hours from picking. So not at all market-able and you'll never see them at a store. We gave the three berries to my parents yesterday when we went to visit.

As you might imagine, my elderly parents were very skeptical of these tiny "strawberries" that were ivory white with greenish cast to them from the seeds, and they wouldn't touch them until I MADE them eat them. But it was totally worth seeing their eyes light up with surprise and pleasure.