We've waited a long time for peaches, pears, and apples to mature. The last thing we want to see on our daily fruit stroll is no fruit. Squirrels, birds, raccoons and opossums love the fruits hanging from our trees. What really bugs me is that often they will take a peck or bite, knock the fruits off the tree and leave it. What poor manners!
So, what can we do to protect our fruits! One tip is netting. I have a mulberry tree and every year the birds eat the fruits just as they ripen. This year I decided to cover one of the lower branches with a light weight floating row cover as an experiment. Much to my delight, the birds ate the unprotected mulberries and I've been munching on the covered ones for weeks. So netting or covers work, especially on small trees. The key is to secure it well around the tree and trunk.
Another prevention technique is to use baffles wrapped around tree trunk. This only works if you have a tree where squirrels can't jump onto the branches from a building or other tree. The baffle baffles them and they can't seem get around it.
Some gardeners have tried spraying animal urine at the base of trees, using reflective tape and other scare devices. These will work with limited success. One last method to try is fruit bags. These bags are wrapped around maturing fruits before the animals find them. Of course, this is labor intensive and your tree will look like a wishing tree, but it does work.
Now for this week's tip: keep your basil crop coming by taking stem cuttings now for fall. Take a four- to-six inch long cutting, dip the cut end in rooting hormone powder and stick it into a pot filled with moistened potting soil. The basil cutting will root quickly and grow strong until the days get too short and cool. Then you can bring it inside to finish maturing.
