Gardening Forum

[Don 130]

I've wanted one of those farm cameras for ages and keep hoping they come down in price - but they don't seem to. I'll report back.
cheers,
D

Trail cams here.
The fly paper idea sounds good. If it's a possum, quassia chips are said to be a deterrent.
Don.

[pop058]

either that or I have to buy another cake--

you are probably going to do that anyway

[Lionelgee]

Hello D,

I drew a red circle around something. It could either be a dying leaf laying flat to the stem; otherwise it looks like something has chewed the bark.

Is there vehicular traffic going close to this tree and not the others?

Kind Regards
Lionel

Gee where is D.?

Maybe D is out near the apple tree with net in hand and being very very quiet ... Accessed November 16, 2016 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MWpnGI6qxQ

Kind Regards
Lionel

[Dark61]

Sorry - I had to wait for the Mrs to do the stuff with the camera as my eyes are pretty poor. Hopefully this is better. It does look slightly gnawed. The trees are about 20 feet away from a road - not all that busy. I like the fly paper idea. I have some aphid paper somewhere ( I hope) that might do.
The farm cameras have certainly dropped in price since the last time I looked.
cheers,
D

[Lionelgee]

Sorry - I had to wait for the Mrs to do the stuff with the camera as my eyes are pretty poor. Hopefully this is better. It does look slightly gnawed. The trees are about 20 feet away from a road - not all that busy. I like the fly paper idea. I have some aphid paper somewhere ( I hope) that might do.
The farm cameras have certainly dropped in price since the last time I looked.
cheers,
D

G'day D,

Thanks for the new photographs. Does your access to the shed in your house yard mean that you are driving close to this one particular apple tree?

One of your earlier photographs - the one that I copied and drew a red circle on showed a shed in the background. It looked there were wheel tracks to the side of the apple tree and the tracks lead to the shed.

Kind Regards
Lionel

[Dark61]

Yep I drive past at least a couple times a day.
Cheers,
D

[Lionelgee]

Yep I drive past at least a couple times a day.
Cheers,
D

G'day D,

Vehicles equals soil compaction equals unhappy plant. Plant gets stressed which pests pick up on as an easy target. All manner of nasties then hone in on the plant.

A plant under stress is vulnerable for attack and is an attractive host to a wide range of predators and diseases.

You need to do some research on treating compaction in soils. Otherwise it will still be vulnerable and pest treatment will be a waste of time and money.

The other option is to wait until just after next dormant season and dig the tree up. Relocate it into a well prepared nicely composted hole. Place the new home somewhere well away from regular vehicular traffic and you probably have to tie the tree down because it will want to leap out of the ground in a new spurt of growth.

Kind Regards
Lionel

[Dark61]

That makes a lot of sense. I have been wondering why they are so small and never seem to get much bigger. I'll get the fork out as a first option.
Thanks for the heads up.
Cheers,
David

[Lionelgee]

That makes a lot of sense. I have been wondering why they are so small and never seem to get much bigger. I'll get the fork out as a first option.
Thanks for the heads up.
Cheers,
David

G'day D,

No worries. Good to use some of my old trade brain cells again.

Garden forked holes tend to close over very quickly and can actually compact the soil laterally in between each tine.

You could visit your local hire place to see if they have a manual hollow tine corer available for hire. From the trunk to the drip line and then go out a third further of the radius past the drip line.

The first couple of minutes of this YouTube clip shows the type to get the hollow core. Accessed November 18, 2016 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ6v3DG2bHM The second part about spiking will not be good enough for compacted soil around trees

Make up a mix of fertiliser at the recommended rates, some Perlite, plus some fine compost and coarse sand. Spread over the cored area and rake in, then add water. It will make your apple tree happy. The Perlite keeps the soil open so it will not compact too quickly.

Kind Regards
Lionel

[Dark61]

That's an interesting bit of kit - haven't found it anywhere near yet - but I'll keep looking.
Cheers,
D

found one in Bunnings $60.00 ish.