Right Winger
Registered User
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What should I do to protect the fruit from birds?
Last year the Katja variety produced a nice crop, got to nearly tennis ball size and the crows wiped them out! Similar with Braeburn's, although they weren't as productive. Have a decent crop so far this year so also wondering how to keep the crows out.
I have problems with crows too on crab apple trees outside my office window, other birds don't seem to bother with them. The main problem however isn't the crows, but the wasps that inevitably follow once a crow has opened an entry for them.Surprised at that - we never had a crow problem and I thought that crows have little interest in apples outside of wintertime. Are you sure it wasn't blackbirds?
Some apples have already dropped off with the strong winds in recent days so I think I'll leave it at that for now.Rasperries are a staple with us too, brilliant fruit to have (albeit as hazelgreen said, it spreads vigorously).
On the questions asked by the OP:
1. Some of the trees have branches with lots of fruit and other branches with nothing. Should I prune these branches at this stage of the year to encourage growth of the fruiting branches?
Answer: Now is not a good time to prune so as hazelgreen said, wait until the tree is dormant (over the winter) or better still prune in early spring as the cuts will heal more quickly when the tree is waking up again. I would also remove some of the fruit on the branches as otherwise you risk having no fruit next year (if the plant uses up too much energy this year it can result in a barren year next year).
I got a 100m roll of the metallic strip from Amazon for about a fiver in Euro. It's easy to cut and can be knotted and tied around the branches so the end flaps about in the wind. We'll see how it goes!2. What should I do to protect the fruit from birds? I've seen ads for reflecting metallic strips for hanging on the trees that make a bit of noise and scare away the birds. Or old CDs work too. Allegedly. There's also artificial hawks (on tall poles that sway in the wind) that do the same thing. Has anyone got any real life experience as to whether these work or not?
Answer: As others have said, birds (especially crows but also blackbirds) definitely can attack apple trees. We lose half our cooking apples to them each year. We tried CDs to no avail, also tried netting and it was just too much hassle (tree ended up growing up through the net!). Didn't try anything else so we now just try and pick them as soon as we can but would love to hear also from anyone who has good tips on this.
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