Fruit Tree Netting

[Svengali]

I have netted my cherry and plum trees. There are no fruits on my pear, so the question is academic, but do I need to net apples, being a much harder job for the birds?

[Svengali]

[valmarg]

In a word, svengali, no.  The first sign that your desert apples are ripe will be small holes where they have pecked at the fruit.  The don't tend to bother with cooking apples.

I wouldn't bother with plums either.  The biggest problem with plums in Autumn is wasps, and they can get through netting anyway.  The same with cherries, when you notice wasps flying through the netting, the cherries will be ripe.  You do, however, need netting on cherries, as the blackbird family will demolish the lot, given half a chance!!

valmarg

[veggiewomble]

Do we have to net or cage tomatoes?

I've netted the strawberries and blueberry bush as I've noticed a blackbird doing the rounds lately.

vw

[jennym]

Have never netted tomatoes, the birds don't seem to touch them. Slugs are the main problem.
As a side issue, the cheapest netting I've found has been at Wilinsons, and it was pretty good quality too.

[Robert_Brenchley]

No need to worry about netting toms, but if they're touching the ground, slugs are a problem.