Earli Grande Peach tree - Had to put a net over it

phoenixtropicals

I had already put some cd's on my peach tree but the birds were doing a significant amount of damage anyways, so I decided to net it. The net is much longer than it is wide so I wrapped it around the tree, instead of putting it over the top, and pulled through some parts in the middle and clipped them together. It would have been pretty much impossible to put a net over the tree anyways, given how tall it is and the way the net seems to catch on every twig.

I went into the house for 5 minutes and came back out and there was already a finch/sparrow caught in the net. He even had a bit of peach in his beak. I freed him and went back in the house again, came out a little while later, and what appeared to be the same bird was hopping around the tree looking for a way in. I chased him away and haven't had a bird caught in there since.

Some kind of super sparrow maybe. Not deterred by cd's and even comes back after being handled. Crazy. Anyways, the net seems to be working now.

mariolo · Joined: 06 Feb 2012 Posts: 116

What about,one of these fake ows? Would they work?

Datropicalman · Joined: 22 Sep 2010 Posts: 132 Location: phx

Fake owls only keep away fake birds

Dauntless · Joined: 20 Nov 2010 Posts: 174 Location: Mesa, AZ

I had to resort to netting as well. My trees are still pretty small and after dealing with the tangled mess that the netting gets into, I decided to make pvc cubes and attach the netting to it. I leave one side so that I can open it up and walk in. The cubes are 7'X7'X6' tall.

I haven't caught any birds in the netting but I did catch a good sized Coachwhip snake. Unfortunately, he was dead when I found him, although, I don't know how I could have gotten him out without getting bit.
I hadn't finished trimming the bottom and ran out of daylight and he was in there by the next morning.
It seems that if the stuff is taut, they may not get tangled in it.

Since I am trying to grow my fruit trees based loosely on the Backyard Orchard Culture model, the trees won't get that tall (maybe 8 feet) and I should be able to come up with a permanent system to cover them. At least that's the plan Smile

myamberdog · Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 9:02 pm Post subject:

I've had some minor beak damage on my still small peach tree, but I know the netting will have to come into play at some point. Luckily, all my fruit trees are planted in a 6 foot by 30 foot stretch, bordered by the house and a fence and two gates at each of the long ends, so I will drap maybe 3 of the nets over the whole she-bang when the day comes....

thanks, guys......MDog

phoenixtropicals · Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 4:18 pm Post subject:

I try to keep my trees small too, but peaches grow really fast and I made the mistake one year of trimming it after it fruited. That meant trimming it right before summer and it almost killed it because the sun really hammered it without the extra foliage. As you can see it's getting too tall again, but this year I'll wait until its dormant to trim it.

Interesting, a coach whip snake. I haven't seen one of those before.

phoenixtropicals · Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 11:55 am Post subject:

The peaches are peaking in ripeness right now and are really really good.

Dauntless · Joined: 20 Nov 2010 Posts: 174 Location: Mesa, AZ

I have 4 different kinds of peach trees, Bonanza, Tropic Snow, Desert Gold and Red Baron. This will be the first year that I will get fruit. None of them are ripe yet and I am anxious to try them.

The Coachwhip snake is also called a Racer. They are fast. I don't see too many of those but I see a lot of gopher snakes. Needless to say, I always watch where I step and reach.

I'm not going to do the summer pruning either. I'll do most of my trimming when they are dormant and some in the fall when it cools off.