---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <noozguru@...> wrote :
My apple tree didn't produce much the last two years. Not much of a worry as they are green apples (very sour) and it is really a huge pain to raise organic apples. Basically you put out sticky traps for the coddling moths who like to lay their eggs on the buds. If you are a little late about getting those traps in February the nurseries run out. But those traps cost $18 and I get more organic apples out of $18 worth at Trader Joes. Go figure. Another trick is to spray the tree with orange spray. The bugs think it is a orange tree and stay away (except for bees). I have a lemon tree which is no problem whatsoever as long as I can get my non English speaking gardener to prune it once a year. The prior gardener went back to Peru for health care and I didn't have to remind him. I do notice the bee populations around here is down quite a bit. Probably way down from when John Muir had this lot as part of his orchard. Interesting. We have an orchard on about a half of an acre that is a left over from the previous owners. We do nothing with the trees on this part of the property so I guess it could be called organic fruit. There are peach trees, blackberries, about four kinds of pears and at leasts 6 types of heritage apples as well as figs and some sort of green grape as well as the most heavenly golden plums (which we do gorge ourselves on). This all goes to the rats and deer and some to the horses when we bother to gather wheel barrow loads of apples. There is tons of fruit produced most years and it falls off the trees. No bother at all and all growing, ripening and falling to the ground all on its own.
