More on Bagging Fruits for Protection. 1.1.15

This is my momentary obsession for gardening.  It will pass.  Something to read and learn during winter.  Meanwhile, some references.

oisat.org describes how to make fruit bags from newspapers.  I can see that working in dry climates, or summer fruit in dry summer areas, such as here.  "works well with melon, bitter gourd, mango, guava, star fruit, and banana" "...prevents insect pests, especially fruit flies, from finding and damaging the fruits. The bag provides physical protection from mechanical injuries (scars and scratches) and prevents female flies' laying activities, latex burns, and fungal spots on the fruits. Although laborious, it is cheaper, safer, easier to do, and gives you a more reliable estimate of your projected harvest."  They use  double layers of the newspapers and sew or stable them to make the bag.

Detailed discussion for various fruits, on Hawaiifruit.net.    They used manufactured bags of various types from Japan.   It's interesting, they note " For hundreds of years throughout most of Asia, farmers have been covering fruit with paper either to protect their appearance or to increase the time the fruit would be on the tree thus making it sweeter." and "This practice first came to Hawaii with the early Japanese immigrants and in the 1920’s Ohau farmers employed school children to wrap figs."  They describe their experiment showing of the first 100 bagged figs, 94 were harvested undamaged.  Six were damaged, thought due to rats.  Of 100 unbagged fruits, 86 were damaged beyond recognition by birds.  Because of the bird damage, insect damage was not possible to assess.  

The Hawaii article discussed multiple varieties of fruit.  The only ones I can grow from their list, are figs.

From rfcarchives.org.au, "In Japan where the average orchard is only two to three acres, bagging is an important cultural operation for fruits such as loquat, persimmon and nashi fruit (Asian pear). ...  bagging is undertaken to reduce the number of pesticide applications and to improve fruit appearance.. provides a major defence against fruit piercing moths ...makes po ssible the production of fruit of a very attractive blemish-free fruit with considerable eye appeal."  Some of the bags in Japan are impregnate with pesticide, something I won't do.  The article goes on to state bag are used for mangos in the Philippines.  Among the types of bags, newsprint was one type that worked well to dramatically reduce insect damage.  Plastic bags did not work well in their work with mangos.  On the same website, one writer used nylon bags made from old curtains, with successful protection of the fruit (1983).   

This article on pears, did not describe insect damage, but rather lack of negative changes in pears due to bagging.  "

Preharvest bagging of pear fruit (Pyrus communis L. ‘Doyenne du Comice') with micro‐perforated polyethylene bags c. 30 days after full bloom did not affect fruit size and weight, density, maturity, and flesh content of N, P, K, Ca, and Mg. Bagged fruit had a greener and lighter skin colour than non‐bagged fruit, whereas the development of blush on the sunny side was not different between treatments"

Apparently, bagging can also be beneficial for persimmons.  

What interests me here is that, in so many years of gardening, I haven't read about bagging fruits.  I'm sure the method will not benefit all fruits, in all climates, but it looks like it's worth testing for apples and a number of other fruits.  It's surprising the method has been around so long, and so widespread, and yet is not part of the general gardening knowledge here.

Edit:  Adding more articles.  In Sicily, in the province of Enna, peaches are bagged in parchment paper bags.    The resultant peaches are called "Pesca Settembrina".   A farmer came up with the bagging method in the 1960s to save peaches from the Mediterranian Fruit Fly.    Also "The pulp firmer and more acidic, due to the slow maturation, make it particularly suitable for the preparation of jams; are excellent in combination with the white meat which give it a special taste."... " The remedy comes a few years later: the parchment paper bag in which the fruits are wrapped 120-150 days before fully ripe peaches protects from pests, from the weather and avoid the excessive use of fertilizers from industrial sources."

Puttering. Noting harvest times on labels. Covered bed didn't work. 1.31.14

Tree Labels Showing Harvest Times.

Plastic Raised Bed Cover Didn't Work.

Each year we lose some apples and pears because I don't know when they are ripe.  Some ripen August, some September, some October.

I don't know why this didn't occur to me before.

I made embossed labels showing the expected ripening time for each variety.  It took some time to look them up.  But now I have that info on the blog, where I can find it, and on the trees, where can also find it.

These labels don't last forever.  They corrode.  But they last a lot longer than Sharpie on plastic.

The raised bed cover collected water and sagged inward, to the ground.  The hoops bent due to the water weight.  I removed the cover, and cut a new one from water-permeable row cover.  The hoops are almost back to their original shape.

I might try again on the narrower bed.  Steeper sides.  Might need better ribs to prevent sagging.

Backyard Orchard: The payoff!

Studying diligently for my recertification, not spending time in the garden. Always some reason to neglect it! That's one of the great things about the backyard orchard - it doesn't need care at the time of harvest, and the harvest is great if the weather permits and prior preparation was good.

Late frost and chilly spring meant a lot of grapes didnt set. Even so, there are plenty odf sweet flavorful grapes to eat now and for the next month or so.

Tomatoes are doing great! The delay just made them all the sweeter in my mind!

Oh man, the pears! Luscious, sweet, a dessert in eveyr bite! Eating one every day.

Still some Asian pears remaining. I think they'll last a little longer on the tree while I eat the European pears. The first of the asian pears were wonderful!

I don't know if I posted on the Trilite peaches, now they are long gone. Very good! Now the genetic dwarf peach is almost ripe, a bit crunchy and slightly tart but very peachy!

Peppers are the best I've ever grown! Container gardening rocks for these warm season plants! THe eggplants are producing as well! Cool!

Buds: Phenological photos.

Phenology - keeping track of natural progression of plant growth and other events, in an effort to know when to plan agricultural activities. See other entries by clicking on labels. Here are some events in my yard currently, especially flower buds, leaves unfolding, and growth beginning for various plants.

Pear flower bud, almost open.

Lilac flower bud. This is the first to show little purple 'grapes' within the bud.

The smallest daffodils are blooming.

The first violets are blooming.

Backyard tree peony.

Peach blossoms, only a few open but already they look so beautiful.

Chinese chives, about 6 inches tall. I hear them saying, quietly, "make me into dumplings".

Rhubarb leaves continuing to open. This is "Victoria".

Japanese Pieris. Full bloom

Today's Harvest

The first pears were eaten today. Very good. Still a handful of beans. Cayenne peppers are reddening. Still a little sourness in the grapes, but definitely closer. Tomatoes are in full performance mode. Some squash blossoms - raw, they taste like lettuce. Some lettuce - this was left over from Spring, and somehow is at it's peak now.

Mesclun is full of holes - slugs. Tome fo rsome organic slug bait.

Seed planting, hummingbird feeder, weeds.

Today there was enough time off that I sat outside and studied for 3 hours. Nice. Charlie sat by my side, pausing occasionally to bark at bees.

I set up the hummingbird feeders. One has a metal base and rusted out. So, I won't by any with metal bases, again. The type with stopper in the bottom that gravity feeds, always leak, so none of those either. I bought a new one, so there are 2. They are filled with sugar water (1/3 cup sugar in 1 cup hot water, then cooled). No humming birds at them yet, although I heard some recently. Humming birds ar enot just cool to look at, they also eat insects. I think I'll put one up at my window at work, see if they visit.

I pulled more weeds to feed Ning's chickens.

It's 68 according to weather channel. Feels warmer. Soil feels warm, too.

The tulips are in bloom all over the place. Some have been in the same spot since we bought this house, so at least 7 years. Those are multiplying, so they are now clusters instead of single blooms. Interesting, since they often seem like annuals. These are either 'perennial' tulips or the situation is ideal.


Planted Romano Bush Beans. Haven't tried these before. After watering them in, I got out the books that I studied. On return, there were doggie footprints in the newly planted bed. I wonder who did that? No harm done, at least they didn't dig. The photo is a volunteer bean, probably one of Ning's "ChangChun" beans.

The daffodil flowers are done.
The Tulips are at their height.
The hyacinths are done.


The muscari are at THEIR height.

The North Pole apple and the Liberty apple are blooming, but not the Jonagold.
The pear is blooming.
Most of the violets are done.



The fig breba 'embryos' are the size of beebees. Actually a little bigger, but I don't have a good comparison. Capers?

The 'lazy man's cuttings' from apples, ginkgos, and forsythia, figs (push dormant prunings into the ground, shady moist area with lots of organic matter) are growing. I know from past experience that this doesn't prove roots are growing, just that they are viable.



Dandelion-eating hen. The hens are up to 2 eggs per day (for 4 hens)

Fruit Trees: status report.

Stella cherry. All of the cherries are in bloom.

4-variety pear. This is the first year that all varieties have bloomed.

North Pole Apple. I was concerned that I had removed all of the flowerring buds, but if just one per spur sets fruit, there will be plenty.

For other fruits:

All of the fig trees have at least miniscule buds. Even the new "Desert King", only a foot tall, has 1 or 2 breba embryos and a tiny tuft of leaves at the top. The Lattarula has 1 or 2 brebas, and mostly tiny, approximately 1mm new buds on all branches. The other fig trees have slightly larger buds, the largest being on "Vancouver" with multiple brebas.

The peaches have a major case of leaf curl. My attempts at prevention via multiple sprays of neem were not successful. Some branches appear to be dying. Remind me next fall to COVER the peach trees to prevent leaf curl. The new peaches have bloomed but given that they were just started this year as bare-root trees, Im not sure what I'll do if they set fruit.

The Aprium looks mostly dead after a hard frost. The Chinese apricot, which started blooming later, looks alive but Im not sure about fruit set.

Looks like not a good year for stone fruit.