Preventive measure: Tanglefoot for ants and aphids

Every year, I discover ants in the figs. It's not too bad - slice open and wash them out. If you miss a few, the ants have a nice crunchy texture and nutty flavor. However, the ants carry fungal spores, and it seems that the ant-infested figs also spoil before they reach their ultimate sweetness. Every year, I tell myself that "next year" I'll prevent the ant infestation.

Same with the cherries. Every summer, the leaves develop massive black cherry aphid infestations. I suspect that the ants cultivate the aphids. AFTER I see them, I get out the tanglefoot, but by then a lot of damage is done.

So this year WILL BE DIFFERENT! I actually did remember. What's up with that! Tanglefoot is great at stopping the ants from climbing the trees, and no toxic chemicals.

The instructions state to wrap the tree tightly with plastic, before applying the tanglefoot. I cut wide strips from plastic grocery store bags. These have enough stretch to make snug, bark-tight bands. They also tear quite easily, so there is no risk of girdling the tree with them. They start to deteriorate in about a year, which is time for the new coating.

I use a disposable plastic knife to apply the Tanglefoot. It's very gooey. Next to impossible to wash out of clothing.

I applied the same treatment to the pears, apples, cherries, and figs. The reason for also applying to the apples and pears is to reduce spread of disease by aphids.

Visitor Update

From ClustrMaps, 31,121 visitors so far, to this little backyard garden. That's a lot of footsteps in the garden! Thanks for your interest, I hope that this is entertaining and useful for you.

Backyard Orchard

Despite the Orchard Mason Bees, I've been diligent about playing 'bumble bee' myself with a small paintbrush, transferring pollen among different varieties of cherry, or pear, or peach, or apple. The peach anbd cherry ova are starting to swell, giving me hope for plentiful fruit from each. The aprium had massive die-off (again) of branches after blooming. Unclear why. Blossoms are 'almost' open from the small graft I added to Liberty apple 2 years ago. Apricot did not set fruit - not too surprising, it's only 2 years old.

Embryonic sweet cherries. I'm starting to get excited!

Embryonic peaches. I'm starting to get very excited! Also a few on the Trilite "Peach-plum" hybrid - in it's 2nd year, so I'll cross my fingers. So far - virtually no peach leaf curl. Pray to the peach gods!

North pole apple in bloom. I over-pruned the stubby branches last winter, because they were too long. It still promises a big bowl of apples if the coddling moths dont get them. This is a different style of 'backyard orchard culture' tree. It occupies a very small garden footprint, growitn as a column rather than spreading out.

Liberty apple on M27. This root stock keeps the tree ultra-small. Very pretty, even if it didn't get apples, but it's quite fruitful. This is an example of a 'backyard orchard culture' tree that barely needs pruning - it just stays small.

This multigraft pear is being maintained at under 7 feet tall. This year there are also lots of blooms - quite pretty. It had a couple dozen pears last year. This year it is near it's maximum size for backyard orchard culture, so I'll be challenged to prune carefully this summer to maintain size and still keep it fruiting.

Kitchen Garden

Better late than never, I think. This year I'm about 2 weeks behind previous years. I think I may have been 1 or 2 weeks ahead before, though, so maybe it will be OK. It's still below 50 most nights, so too early to plant outside, anyway.

The State of the Figs

Every tree recovered from the coldest winter yet. A couple of Hardy Chicago twigs died, as did the tips of King. Most have quickly-growing embryonic brebas.

Vancouver (probable Brunswick).Lots of brebas. I hope that they develop!

Lattarula (A.K.A Lemon A.K.A. White Marseilles. This is the most brebas that it has had. So far I've never had one mature to ripeness, but it was in a container for the first 2 years, and last year had a late frost. I may have overpruned it last year as well. Esentially no pruning this year.

Hardy Chicago. Still too small to really call a 'tree'. Not many brebas. It's supposed to produce main crop quickly, so if it does that it will still be worth the garden space.

Petite negri. Lots of brebas. A few trials of grafts here and there, just to see if I can. They are not growing yet.

King. Only one breba, but this is only it's second season. This year if I get one, to taste, I'll be happy.