What's Growing in the Garden

SENC said:
Get'em Tim! No mercy!
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I'd actually like to show a little mercy and use a biological to kill them so as not to kill beneficial insects, but that can take 2 days for them to stop eating and die. In this heat, the trees will be defoliated in that time.

With what I just sprayed, they were mostly dead by the time I rinsed out the sprayer and came back inside. If we don't have too much rain in the next couple days I'll get 5-7 days of residual before I have to spray again.
 
So you primed yourself with a couple of Metallica albums starting with “Kill ‘Em All” and finished with “Justice For All” before and during the aftermath? Did you finish w/ “Harvester of Sorrow’s” or did you go back and played “One”? I am more interested what battle gear you had on…..

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Too hot for battle gear. Shorts, long sleeve sun shirt, hat and blue nitrile gloves. Chemicals I used are very deadly to insects, but no mammalian toxicity. I'm careful, but vary my battle gear according to toxicity.

Having said all that, I won't have to check for ticks tonight. :wink:
 
trc65 said:
Too hot for battle gear. Shorts, long sleeve sun shirt, hat and blue nitrile gloves. Chemicals I used are very deadly to insects, but no mammalian toxicity. I'm careful, but vary my battle gear according to toxicity.

Having said all that, I won't have to check for ticks tonight. :wink:
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What did you use?
 
djg said:
What did you use?
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Bifenthrin plus PBO (piperonyl butoxide). PBO is an insecticide synergist that "soups up" the efficacy of many insecticides.

Large adult beetles of any species can be difficult to kill. In an ideal situation you would never target adult insects, but sometimes have no choice. In this case adding the PBO gives a very high kill rate.
 
trc65 said:
Bifenthrin plus PBO (piperonyl butoxide). PBO is an insecticide synergist that "soups up" the efficacy of many insecticides.

Large adult beetles of any species can be difficult to kill. In an ideal situation you would never target adult insects, but sometimes have no choice. In this case adding the PBO gives a very high kill rate.
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Next up, apricots. Not a lot of them, but enough to make a couple batches of jam and to dry a few. Probably a couple weeks out yet for them.

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Thanks Mike, we've always had problems with stone fruit, not from hardiness always, but we get bad gummosis in young trees. This tree, I've let alone until it is a mature size and have only last year started pruning it. Hoping we can get an annual crop now that it is starting.

Many years ago we had apricots at the research farm in Wisconsin. Trees did fine, but only had a good harvest about every three years or so, too many late freezes/frosts.

Many apricots are hardy to zone 4 (I'm in 5b) but hardiness doesn't mean you will get a crop.
 
It's like me and peaches in the past. About 1 year in 5 would get a crop because of spring freezes. Might be able to have some now, but have run out of room and sun!
 
Couldn't stop myself, had to try one.

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Tomorrows job: converting a fiberglass extension ladder into a tripod orchard ladder so I can pick these. I can reach with my extension picker pole, but difficult to tell from the ground if they are fully ripe.

By this weekend I'll either have pictures of some apricots in a basket, or pictures of an arm and/or leg cast :wink:
 
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All done!

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Just kidding, although I did climb up four rings before common sense took over. Simple connection, cut a slit in a pipe so it just fit over a ring and welded an old well pipe to it for the leg.

I've also got some outriggers cut to widen the base to about five feet. The board on the bottom is just to give me a flat base for measuring and cutting.

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I think I will also make a short brace at the top attachment point to keep the leg centered and spread the force along the whole top.

Going to be a heavy sucker, but everything is quickly removed for conversion back to extension ladder or if I have to move it long distances.
 
trc65 said:
All done!

View attachment 275505

Just kidding, although I did climb up four rings before common sense took over. Simple connection, cut a slit in a pipe so it just fit over a ring and welded an old well pipe to it for the leg.

I've also got some outriggers cut to widen the base to about five feet. The board on the bottom is just to give me a flat base for measuring and cutting.

View attachment 275506

I think I will also make a short brace at the top attachment point to keep the leg centered and spread the force along the whole top.

Going to be a heavy sucker, but everything is quickly removed for conversion back to extension ladder or if I have to move it long distances.
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Outriggers are a real good idea! I take it this is for harvesting from your fruit trees? Chuck
 
Nature Man said:
Outriggers are a real good idea! I take it this is for harvesting from your fruit trees? Chuck
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Yes, harvesting, primarily apricots, but also pears. Will also use for dormant pruning. I've got some standard size fruit trees that are getting out of control up high as I can't reach them with step ladder and lower branches aren't strong enough for me to climb on while pruning.
 
TA DA !!!

No broken bones and I grabbed the first half dozen that are ripe.

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Gotta say, it gets sketchy toward the top, and I'll always have that third leg in the middle of the tree so its close to branches I can grab, but it works.
 
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