Topic: Protecting Cherries...

[piglit]

You were all so helpful about my strange coloured courgettes that I am now going to become a pest with constant questions...so this weeks question is...
I have just moved into a new house which has a cherry tree in the garden, currently covered in lots of baby green cherries.  The neighbours say that they have already seen pigeons on the tree and I fear that there will be no cherries left for me!! What should I do to protect it? Net? Fleece? An air riffle??

[tim]

I would go for the 'air riffle'! Or I would if I didn't have neighbours.

Seriously, how big is the tree?  Scaraweb is a possibility. = Tim

[cleo]

Fleece is good as long as the tree is not too large,the one thing you can bank on is that if you do not protect the fruit you will never get any.

Stephan.

[JAL]

Hi,

My mum uses a net curtain to protect her cherry tree.  Mine - I have given up - I just sit and watch the squirrels and birds enjoying them - the tree is now too large to cover with anything - I do sometimes get the odd one or two that have been missed!
jal

[Mrs Ava]

My mum is the same Jal.  Her tree is now huge so there is no way she can protect the fruit, mind you, she normally gets a couple of bowls full, but then watches the birds have the rest.

[budgiebreeder]

Yes i have the squirrel problem.But i find even when i have them netted they manage to get inside the net.They then panic,run round like crazy and make a mess of the tree.Roast Squirrel anyone? ???
Looks as though both the Morrello and Stella are going to have a good crop this year.GGGrrrrr Pesky Squirrels.

[philcooper]

My gardeniung group had a talk from the manager of a large fruit orchard on how to grow fruit trees.

he spent ages on the intricacies of apple tree culture, some time on the differences when dealing with pears a short time on peaches and on cherries said - a single tree is not worth the effort becuse of the losses to birds!!! :'(

[piglit]

Hooray! I knew you lot would do it.  Scaraweb is the exact thing that I saw a while back, thought 'that would be good for the fruit tree' and then promptly forgot.  I don't mind some of the fruit going to the birds but having lost most of my currants to the slugs and snails I am quite determined to get at least a few cherries for myself. The tree is probably about 4m and on a rather inconvienent hill... making both covering and picking tricky so if I protect the bits I can pick then leave the rest for the animals we'll all be happy!

Thanks again.

Alice

[tim]

And you don't have to cover the whole tree - just the best looking & most accessible branches.

Scaraweb is bio-degradable, isn't it? = Tim