The EASIEST Way To Protect Fruits And Vegetables From Pests!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ค. 2024
- Do the fruits and vegetables in your garden suffer damage from insects, birds, mice, squirrels or other annoying pests? This method is the easiest way to protect fruits and vegetables from pests, and it requires no sprays or chemicals of any kind!
Whether you need to protect fruits from insects, protect fruits from birds, protect fruits from squirrels or other animals, using organza bags to protect fruit can stop pest damage and control garden pests where sprays and pesticides fail. Organza bags come in many sizes from very small to very large, so you can protect vegetables as large as cucumbers and zucchini with the larger bags.
The following products* were featured in this video:
Organza Bags 3.6"x4.8" (fig size): amzn.to/442fcAB
Organza Bags 6"x9" (tomato size): amzn.to/3Qwp42A
Organza Bags 8"x12" (cucumber size): amzn.to/3OwBTr4
Organza Bags 12"x16" (large fruits): amzn.to/3KEdMW2
Full Amazon Store: www.amazon.com/shop/themillen...
TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 How To Prevent Garden Pest Damage On Fruits Without Sprays
2:09 The Organza Bag Solution
2:34 The Best Organza Bag Sizes For Fruit Protection
3:29 How To Protect Fruit With Organza Bags
4:35 The Best Color Organza Bags To Use
5:38 Small Organza Bag Demonstration Using Fig Trees
7:57 Large Organza Bag Demonstration Using Tomatoes
8:52 Use Organza Bags With A Spraying Routine For Best Results
10:09 Adventures With Dale
If you have any questions about protecting fruit from birds, insects, and other common garden pests, using organza bags for gardening, want to know about the things I am growing in my garden, are looking for any gardening tips and tricks, or have questions about gardening and organic gardening in general, please ask in the Comments below!
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VISIT MY AMAZON STOREFRONT FOR PRODUCTS I USE MOST OFTEN IN MY GARDEN*
www.amazon.com/shop/themillen...
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VISIT MY MERCHANDISE STORE
shop.spreadshirt.com/themille...
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EQUIPMENT I MOST OFTEN USE IN MY GARDEN (INDIVIDUAL LINKS)*:
Miracle-Gro Soluble All Purpose Plant Food amzn.to/3qNPkXk
Miracle-Gro Soluble Bloom Booster Plant Food amzn.to/2GKYG0j
Miracle-Gro Soluble Tomato Plant Food amzn.to/2GDgJ8n
Jack's Fertilizer, 20-20-20, 25 lb. amzn.to/3AuNUFK
Southern Ag Liquid Copper Fungicide amzn.to/2HTCKRd
Southern Ag Natural Pyrethrin Concentrate amzn.to/2UHSNGE
Monterey Organic Spinosad Concentrate amzn.to/3qOU8f5
Safer Brand Caterpillar Killer (BT Concentrate) amzn.to/2SMXL8D
Cordless ULV Fogger Machine amzn.to/36e96Sl
Weed Barrier with UV Resistance amzn.to/3yp3MaJ
Organza Bags (Fig-size) amzn.to/3AyaMUz
Organza Bags (Tomato-size) amzn.to/36fy4Re
Injection Molded Nursery Pots amzn.to/3AucVAB
Heavy Duty Plant Grow Bags amzn.to/2UqvsgC
6.5 Inch Hand Pruner Pruning Shears amzn.to/3jHI1yL
Japanese Pruning Saw with Blade amzn.to/3wjpw6o
Double Tomato Hooks with Twine amzn.to/3Awptr9
String Trellis Tomato Support Clips amzn.to/3wiBjlB
Nylon Mason Line, 500FT amzn.to/3wd9cEo
Expandable Vinyl Garden Tape amzn.to/3jL7JCI
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Follow Me on TWITTER (@NCGardening) / ncgardening
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ABOUT MY GARDEN
Location: Southeastern NC, Brunswick County (Wilmington area)
34.1°N Latitude
Zone 8A
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© The Millennial Gardener
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I have to say this idea is genius. I used this on my fig tree and let me tell you it works. My small tree which finally gave me fruit this year and a lot. The first fruit which I missed was attacked by birds and ants. I ordered these bags and bam, no more lost fruit. Everyday as I see swelling, they get covered by these bags. I’ve harvested over 40 figs this season from this one tree and I still have several more that will be ready soon. These bags also make harvesting easier as you have little handles to hag on your finger as you pick. There reusable, just rinse them under warm water if the sap from the fruit leaks out. Thanks for sharing this idea!
If I didn't use these bags where I live, I'd lose almost 100% of my fruit to SWD fruit flies come mid-August. They explode around here in late summer, and they'll crawl into every fig and destroy them. The bags are a real game changer. You do have to stay on your game, though, and religiously bag them when they first start to swell. If you stay on your game, you'll be rewarded.
I have two new hazelnut bushes, and they've put on their first serious crop this year. It's a fair bet that squirrels will find them and strip them - but now I'm thinking my stash of darkish green organza fabric will be just the thing to disguise them! Worth a try.
Absolutely great!
I just have one brown turkey fig tree in a large pot. Lots of figs, but a mockingbird has been at them, already having eaten the largest most ripe ones. Put bird netting on this morning (a real pain). Want to try the bags for figs and tomatoes. Last year my tree dropped its fruit, and advice on the Internet said it could be either too much, or too little, water. Your vote for too little, considering what I knew to be my watering schedule, did the trick. I bought a set of those black pots on your site, and plan to plant more fig trees in some of those, so maybe I’ll get at least get a batch of jam next year in spite of the birds. I’m in Zone 7b. Love your vids. Straight forward, efficient conveyance of good info!❤️
You just saved me a ton of money. Thank you.
Glad the video helped you! Thanks for watching!
Great idea! Much prefer this over ugly row covers, etc. Much easier to apply and work around.
They really work well. So far, I've been picking figs for weeks and 100% of the figs I've covered have been without any damage.
Yay, Dale! Beautiful beach for him to enjoy 🌞
It was such a beautiful day. He was really in his element and loving life!
I just started using these mesh bags this year. I really enjoy using them, and think they have helped me get a great tomato yield this year. I hate those leaf footed bugs, and these bags do the trick. When I need to get more, I now know where to get more, thanks for carrying them in your Amazon store.
The LFB's are the worst! They're out of control where I live. That, and the stinkbugs. They suck the life out of the tomatoes, and leave those terrible yellow dots and holes all over the fruit 😓 These definitely do help a lot! Thanks for watching.
@@TheMillennialGardener what are LFB's. I have terrible green stink bugs and those marmalade squash bugs that are out of control when they attack here!.
@@imaspacewoman leaffooted bugs
@imaspacewoman Leaf Footed Bugs. They suck! Literally ...
This is a great idea!
They do a lot in my garden for figs and tomatoes 🍅. I concur with this video.
Glad to hear it's helpful! Thank you for watching.
This is very helpful brother...
I bought the small green organza bags linked in your storefront for my fig tree. They seem to have deterred the birds but the squirrels had a field day. They ripped some of the bags off the tree and tried to eat through the bags. They also tried to eat through the bags that they couldn't rip off the tree. Very frustrating! I made a cayenne pepper spray and sprayed the tree today. We'll see if it deters the squirrels. UGH!
Squirrels ate a hole in my mesh bags...
I use 12 x 18 organza/ mesh bags to cover some of my tomato clusters. Think I will get some rit dye and dye them green as I like the green idea.
When should I cover the figs and tomatoes? Are they ever too small to cover? Will the bags affect their growth? I used a large net last year on the fig tree but it's too cumbersome to keep uncovering every time I want to pick some figs. Thank you!
G’day…I’ve been following you since last year. Quick background; I live in South Orange County, CA, considered Zone 10. Not far from me is the Aliso Trail and all along it one can find wild Chicago Hardy and Mission Fig trees growing along the creek. 3 years ago I had both a Mission and Hardy pop up in my yard at the same time and they’ve flourished since, with both now contained in ¼ barrel sized resin planters - the medium is “Gary’s Top Pot,” the Regular, not the Acid. I’ve encountered a mystery with the Hardy that perhaps you can shed light on. Last year it put out 3 tasty figs, but this year, it went gangbusters and has set close to 100 on last year’s wood. The tree is 5’ tall. Two weeks ago (April 7th), when the figs were about an inch across, I covered them with organza bags the same way you illustrate in your video. In those two weeks they continued to grow and are now turning dark at about 1 ½ inches across and falling off the tree (April 21). They are soft to the touch, but upon opening them up, they are quite unripe and have 1/8th inch sized, translucent coloured worms burrowing inside them.😬 What do you reckon mate?🦘
Good idea. Thanks I will see if it works here in Connecticut
Thanks for watching!
always faithful to watch good and useful videos
Thank you for watching! I appreciate it.
Using these bags on Jujube trees and hope to pick fruit for the first time. Thanks!
They'll certainly give you a better chance. Let us know how it goes!
@@TheMillennialGardener Will do. Thanks for reply!
I have indoor citrus and have been considering these, not because of pests, but because I am prone to knocking them off during watering, fertilizing.... even by the wind in the spring! Would these help reduce the risk?
Your timing is perfect...we have figs nibbling on our figs. Buying some now!
Do you mean bugs? If your figs have become carnivorous, you're going to be rich! 😂
@@TheMillennialGardener haha..seems the auto-correct doesn't want me to blame the bugs from nibbling on my figs!!! Sorry about me not catching that before I hit "send". I did receive my green bags yesterday and now we outsmarted those greedy bugs!
just found a fig inside one bag covered with ants! UGH
@@marandlen I should hope so!
Thank you for this! I ordered 8x12 bags and put them over our tomatoes, eggplants, melons, zucchini, and winter squash. I hope it works and will protect them from birds, squirrels and maybe even rats. Our fig, peach, aprium, and apple trees all have bird netting and tulle over them. I got bags for my parents in law too :)
I'd love to hear your results. Let me know how it goes!
It's been awhile since you posted this. How did it go?
@@Xenphier The bags worked great! Now I have them over the oranges because I always used to see bites on the outside or only the rind would be left. I like the bigger bags because it gives you flexibility for the fruit to grow bigger in it (like zucchini) or to be able to cover a cluster, like tomatoes. Good luck!
@@MB-zg1sk Thanks for the update. I will give them a try on my cucumbers.
@@MB-zg1sk can I use ladies pantyhose?
I have similar bags. Sometimes tieing around delicate fruits can make baby fruit snap. So I would gently place the bag around fruit and use paper stapler to keep it in place.
The key is to get the bags around the fruits early while the fruits are rock hard and resistant to falling off. Figs, tomatoes, peppers, etc., are susceptible to breaking off when they're starting to ripen, but when they're underripe, they're firmly attached. It may not be like this for every single plant out there, but for most, it helps to be early.
@@TheMillennialGardener
I learnt this trick this spring when I found all my peaches all gone in a day by squirrels. Now I have placed this bags on my sugar apples and so far so good.
It would take me forever to cover and then uncover all my fruit with those little bags. It would be a full time job. My entire 8 acres is fruit and nut trees on 35’+ 35’ spacing or closer for smaller fruit trees.
All pest prevention measures scale with size. It's going to take 10 times longer to spray 10 trees than 1 tree. It's going to take 10 times longer to place a bag over 10 tree's worth of fruit than 1 tree's worth of fruit. It works, though. And very well. Everything you do when it comes to gardening is time VS value. Is the time you're putting into something providing enough of a valuable return? That's up to you to decide. However, it doesn't change the fact that this is a very effective measure of protecting fruits.
@@TheMillennialGardener it’s not feasible for big operations. Maybe someone with a few trees. It would take a long time just for one peach tree. Mine have hundreds of peaches per tree. The whole tree covering would be easier but that also gets expensive. Just thinning peaches is very time consuming.
If you have 8 acre of fruit trees, it may not matter to loose some to pests as it’s part of business. Loosing crop vs spending on covering. However for small hobby gardners like us loosing any smal number of fruits is big.
@@amankomar that’s kind of what I said.
@@jamesbarron1202 i fully agree with you. But I would add that many people don't put them on all their fruit. They simply put them on ones that are very close to ripening or at the very last stages, and then when you pick that one, you simply out it on a new one. So you don't do all your fruit and are sure to miss some, but it's more something I do as I water and walk the trees, and then move as I pick them which feels like no extra work.
But if you have thousands, then this is a moot point.
I use Tulle
I've been giving some thought to how to approach pest control (having had june bug grubs hit one of our garden beds). I really like biological controls (we went with nematodes for the grubs and some other pests), followed by exclusion next (I think insect netting is going to be really useful for some pests that are hard to control) and then the chemical / fungal / bacterial methods. Hopefully I can get a good handle on the biological controls so that I need less and less input as the years progress. We'll see. I think as I become more flexible with my gardening, I worry less about pure prevention and it's more about just doing what's necessary to limit excessive damage to crops.
I have really crazy high pest pressure here, but I will say it's lower this year than any other year. I think it's because I've worked very hard over the past year to really clear the weeds out of my entire yard. I put weed barrier down in my entire garden, so it's 98% weed-free, and I spent the whole winter really getting the weeds in my lawn cleared out, so now my lawn is in much better shape, too. I've also been pretty good about spreading bifenthrin granules in my lawn to keep the general ant/mole cricket/etc. population at bay.
I think these measures have helped tremendously. Eliminating the weed population, I think, has really controlled my insect problem, because insects like to lay their eggs in the weeds. I don't know what your weed/lawn situation is in NM, but if you have any srubby/weedy growth nearby, eliminating it may help your case.
In general native plants are welcome if they're well behaved...the native grasses are pretty benign (they clump instead of runner and they don't have much pests). Gotta leave some spots for the predators to overwinter. I'm ok with some pests as that's how you sustain a predator population. If you get an outbreak, then I might reach for a knockdown spray...but I'm not trying to eradicate the pests....just keep them managed. Sometimes it's just hosing some aphids off of my fruit trees with water. Maybe it's harder to do biological controls when you have neighbors that use lots of pesticides as they can exacerbate the problems between predators and prey populations.
It's also how you look at the food production in your yard. I'm not really sweating the small details. I'd rather put in less effort and have a smaller harvest via a balanced approach than try to manage all the details and get a better harvest with way more work. I like to think of it as gently guiding the system (aka yard) into an equilibrium that is in my favor. Folks that like permaculture (I despise labels btw 😅) come up with many fancy words to describe what I like to think is pretty lazy gardening. I'm willing to compromise in several ways: less dense planting for fruiting plants, inter planting with native plants, sacrificial crops or annuals, and dedicated resources for the critters (like water for the birds, bees and lizards). It does require a larger yard, but I'm fairly lucky at 0.3 acre. I think the tradeoffs are worth it for the lazy factor and increase in biodiversity (better mimicking a natural system, which are obviously capable of taking care of themselves). Now not all biodiversity is equal and you can really have issues with invasive plants and imported pests, but I don't have so much pressure that I really have to out of my way to really address it (except be some rodent populations where I'm missing some predators...). For those cases I'll absolutely resort to exclusion.
But, in any case gardening is a big experiment for me. I'm not just limiting my variables to plants. It's a blast watching the critters run around and interact (eat each other?). One year I had a praying mantis camp out on my fennel...ate every swallowtail caterpillar that appeared...nature is brutal 😁
@@TheMillennialGardener Good job with that. Wish was simple here as my garden is right next to a cow pasture that has a lot of weeds in it unfortunately makes for poor control for overwintering bugs.
Something else to consider if you have a lot of fruit to cover, agfabric. You can cover a 6 by 6 tree and zip and tie to bottom of pot with bungee cords. Cost about 20 bucks, but only takes 30 sec. to put on. You can see the fruit and feel it through the bag.
Another option I use is burlap sacks. Again, you just tie the bottom with a bungee cord. My wife cuts and sows these into a bag, so that’s the downside with these, but they last a decade plus.
Squirrels are smart and can still under the fabric. I would stay these bags are squirrel / bird / smaller pest proof.
I promote the Agrabric plant jackets in my Amazon Storefront. I've been using them for 3 years on my in-ground satusuma, avocado and meyer lemon trees. They're not really effective when you have 40 tomatoes and 40 figs, though, because you'd have to spend $1,000 on them 😂 I can cover all my figs and tomatoes individually for about $20 worth of organza bags, by comparison. The plant jackets are effective if you have a handful of trees, but if you have dozens or hundreds, they're no longer affordable.
@@amankomar we don’t have squirrels here, just coyotes, snakes, hawks and rats. I use an inverted funnel to thwart the rats if plant is left uncovered. But, I can tell you over the past decade, no rat has been able to get through a sack tied to the bottom of the pot with bungee cords. Give it a try if you have rat, bird or Japanese Beetle issues. We had a D back rattler in the garden this year, so no rats eating the dropped fruit. I removed it and so will probably need to put the funnel on or cover the trees.
@@mike2510 do you have a picture of the arrangement
@@amankomar I can’t upload pics, TH-cam won’t allow. But, here is Walmart page with the covers
www.walmart.com/ip/Frost-Protection-Outdoor-Winter-Plant-Cover-Keep-Warm-Anti-Insect-Garden-Bags/491635116?selected=true
Love the videos.
What's the latest month you would plant tomatoes?
I want to have garden fresh tomatoes this fall
Thanks. Where are you located? It depends on growing season length and what your fall temps are.
@@TheMillennialGardener Zone 8b Florida Panhandle
You should probably have your tomatoes in as 6 week old transplants by around August 1-15. If you haven’t started seed, you’ll want to now. Your heat is going to start running out in October, so you want your tomatoes setting fruit by mid-September when things cool off.
@@TheMillennialGardener Thanks!
Does these mesh protect guavas from fruit flies ,
As I think fruit flies can puncture from mesh holes
A Reo Bar cage with Chicken Wire on that and Fruitfly net on that and Shade Cloth on that but if you pick the tomato green just when its about to ripen and ripen indoors after putting in fridge for 2 days to kill the eggs it still taste great but you eat the eggs of FF and even if you cant see damage it still is, but i am gonna build the cage onlt got 3.2m by 2.4m to grow tomatos in anyway or pots.
That's fine if you have 2-3 plants, but if you have 50 tomatoes, 50 figs, 100 pepper plants, etc., you can't really do this. This is why the bags are so great. You can cover the fruits when they start to ripen as needed, instead of spending a ton of money on large infrastructure for so many plants.
Hi, I just came across your channel and I subscribed because we have two fig trees (bushes) that have grown out of control. We are new to "figging" so it is entirely our fault they are out of control. The good news is we are getting more fruit than we can consume! The bad news is they are taking over the yard and we need to trim them back. I have watched all of your videos on trimming and pruning but I am nervous about cutting them back too much. We have some really thick trunks and a lot of growth and I don't want to cut back too much or anything vital to the plants surviving, but I hate to lose all of this great fig production. Do you have any advice on how to get out of control fig trees back into control without jeopardizing production or killing the tree? Thanks and again I love your channel!
Thank you for subscribing. I really appreciate it. Yes, the most important advice I can give you is this: you cannot overprune a fig tree. Figs are extremely popular in the Northeast due to the heavy influence from western European immigrants, and it's very common in Zone 7 where figs are commonly grown (like NYC, Philly and NJ) that they're killed back to the ground every season. Still, despite total dieback, by September, they'll be 6-8 ft tall trees. My point is this: you can cut the entire fig tree down to the ground, and by early fall, it'll be taller than you again. I'm not telling you to do this because if you do, you'll really set the fruiting cycle back, but I'm just trying to illustrate that even with total dieback in places with short summers like New York City, a fig tree can still fruit given those suboptimal conditions.
Do not fear about pruning fig trees. I advocate for aggressive pruning come the dormant season. Here in Zone 8, I prune my figs in January, and you can see how aggressive I am with it here: th-cam.com/video/gvY8PCnWgjM/w-d-xo.html
Despite how aggressive I was with the pruning in that video, and we got an April 3rd historically late hard freeze that killed them back even further, all those trees are now grown up over my fence. They're all 6+ feet tall. Aggressive pruning won't set them back as long as you leave low cordons for them to bud from (as in don't cut them back to the central trunk - leave them some branches parallel to the ground to fruit from quickly come spring). As long as you don't cut them back beyond what I did in the video I linked to above, they'll do great.
@@TheMillennialGardener Thanks, this is super helpful!
Im having trouble finding the amazon store link.
Also nylon hose so it stretches when the fruit grows
Can you help me get rid of Japanese Beetles? I’m using Seven right now, but hate using chemicals on my plants. I hope that you have a solution? Thank you so very much!
The only way I've found that keeps beetles in check is to spray the entire garden every 7 days with my ULV fogger (seen here: th-cam.com/video/YVgCfWLR9aA/w-d-xo.html) using natural pyrethrin concentrate. Natural pyrethrin is very toxic to beetles, but also to bees, dragonflies, etc., so make sure to spray at night at sunset because the pollinators mostly leave at sundown. Then, I go through the garden every day with a little 24 ounce spray bottle around mid-day and spray any individual bugs that I find with a spot-treatment with the pyrethrin mix.
Doing this, I've been able to keep damage to a minimum by controlling the population. You have to do this every 7 days to keep the egg-laying-cycle at bay. Otherwise, they'll just keep reproducing and taking over. There's no way around using some kind of toxic spray, but at least with pyrethrin, it is a natural extract from the chrysanthemum flower, so it dissipates very quickly and isn't harmful to humans and mammals when used as directed (except cats - it is toxic to cats, so don't spray if you have cats outdoors at the time).
I struggled to find the bags on your Amazon page and gave up. I would have preferred supporting your channel
What are you doing to control worms from boring into tomato fruit? I’m picking tomatoes when the first break before the birds get them. Those bags might work at keeping the worms and birds at bay. By the way, which dwarf tomatoes have faired the best during your bad weather? I’ve only gotten from 2-4 tomatoes from my dwarfs and now the leaves starting from the bottom up are shriveling and drying up. I’m wondering what to use to save the plants. Thanks!
I keep the worm population completely under control by spraying spinosad in my garden every 7 days with my ULV fogger machine. I may have the occasional worm here or there, but I don't have any significant damage. The pests that damage my tomatoes in my area are leaf footed bugs, stink bugs and shield bugs. They're very difficult to control, because the population here is enormous. I use pyrethrin every 7 days to control that population, but it still just puts a dent in the population. However, the organza bags DO protect against them completely.
This year, I had almost no success with my dwarf tomatoes because of the 11 inches of rain we got in June. That 2-week period in early June where it rained heavily every day came at the worst possible time and caused catastrophic damage to them. This is my first year growing dwarf tomatoes, and they've done well the previous 3, but none of them could handle this rainy cycle. The one that did best was Tasmanian Chocolate, and I did get to pick a few. Sadly, Rosella Purple (normally my favorite) was a total loss. I think I got 2 tomatoes total. The plants are all almost dead at this point, and I'll be removing them in about 2 weeks.
The only plants in that bed that took the weather was Bella Rosa (almost totally unaffected!) and Abu Rawan.
@@TheMillennialGardener I sprayed Captain Jack’s Dead Bug and BT so far, as well as ready spray Bonide Neem oil. I’m more worried about disease because the monsoon has started. I’ll have to spray the Gardencop and Southern AG Garden Friendly Fungicide in the mornings because it’s raining in the afternoons. I think the drying of the leaves might be due the plants beIN planted too close together and only the upper part of the plants are getting adequate sun. That’s too bad about the dwarfs. Adelaide Festival and Tasmanian Chocolate have yielded the best but that’s not saying much because they’re only yielding about four tomatoes each. If I’d gotten them planted a little earlier, they probably would have been more productive. I started some Ace 55 plants by seed, but they turned out to be Black Krim tomatoes. These actually were the best yielding, tasting tomatoes. I’m going to plant them again. If I can get some Bella Rosa seeds soon, I might try them for a second planting. From the dwarfs, I’m only going to plant the Adelaide and Tasmanian next year. I’d like to try the AAS Chef’s Choice Black tomato next year. Are you going to plant the same dwarfs next year? Cheers!
The beard! 🔥🔥🔥
Me or Dale? 😂
@@TheMillennialGardener Both! 😍
Yeah these definitely help with bugs. Unfortunately I tried them on tomatoes and mice still chewed through and I lost about half my harvest. What other methods can be used for rodents?
I would recommend two things:
1. How are you supporting your tomatoes? I recommend the string trellis method. You can use the strings to keep the tomatoes as high up off the ground as possible. I'm assuming the mice are only getting to the low-hanging fruit? th-cam.com/video/8eF2vKisb3c/w-d-xo.html
2. If that doesn't work, you may want to purchase some inexpensive 12-18" chicken wire to run around the base of the plant. It's not the best looking solution, but it may be all you can do .
@@TheMillennialGardener Some rodents are pretty tough pests to exclude from your veggies. They're avid climbers (some rats are arboreal) and most mice are small enough to go through chicken wire. We had to do 1/4" hardware cloth cages (sides and tops) to prevent rodents from eating our prickly pear and other cacti. Either you need a really comprehensive rodent exclusion method (that they can't fit or chew through)... or you trap to reduce populations. I hope for predators :)
@@nmnate
Has that method worked and did you manufacture the cages yourself?
@@julietteyork6293 Yeah it's pretty consistent. We still have these cages on our cacti / prickly pear that the rodents like to eat. We had to make them ourselves out of hardware cloth (tops are kinda time consuming to do).
I use the 8x11 or so size bags for tomatoes. I don't tie them tho - just cinch. I will also cover with copper mesh (like Stuff-fIt or similar for putting in home cracks to keep mice out). Nothing much wants a mouthful of metal. I tend to do the lower hanging fruit with the copper. Copper will last a few seasons even outside over winter.
Re birds and some other creatures - providing them a water source fairly nearby can help also. Often they are seeking moisture depending on environment
Most people can keep birds off their fruits by having a bird bath full of clean water at all times, and a well-stocked bird feeder full of fresh seed. Most birds peck fruits for water, and those that are actually hungry will choose seed over fruit because the calorie density is much higher. The rodents are definitely the toughest to guard against, I think.
Hello, when using these for figs when does pollination happen? Won’t they prevent the pollination from the fig wasp?
Wasps pollinate figs when the figs are small. There is no reason to cover figs when they're small. You only need to cover the figs when they're getting close to ripening. At that point, the wasps have long ago pollinated the figs. Just wait until about 2 weeks before the figs are about to ripen on you. There's no reason to cover them up until they've swollen to a larger size since pests don't bother them in that stage yet.
Can you please tell me if the mesh is small enough to keep out things like pickle worms laying eggs through the mesh? And also if earwigs can get through? I am asking because these things keep attacking my cantaloupes. Thanks
I'm not sure what a pickle worm is. However, it's more than small enough to keep out the tiniest cabbage worms that I've ever seen. The mesh is so fine that it keeps gnats out, so I can't imagine any worm squeezing through. The only pests I've ever seen get inside are ants when they aren't tied tightly enough, because they can crawl in where the drawstrings meet the trunk. I've never seen a flying insect be able to get in unless there is a tear in the bag, or it isn't tied tightly enough.
@@TheMillennialGardener Thanks! Perfect answer. Now I have a better sense of how it is.
Appreciate the advice, but I've had no luck with organza bags. I've covered dozens of figs with green bags only to find almost all the bags ripped and torn...some still hanging, some scattered on the ground. I suspect it's the squirrels and aggressive birds we have in my area (central Texas). I saw a neighbor covering her tomatoes with white paper bags so the fruit is invisible. But I've always thought sunlight needs to fall directly on the fruit, not just the leaves. Maybe not for tomatoes.
You don't need sunlight to ripen tomatoes. They ripen just fine on your counter, and even better in a brown paper bag. If you have very aggressive birds or rodents in your area, you may want to net the entire tree. What you're talking about is damage from large animals. These are very effective against insects and smaller pests.
@@TheMillennialGardener Thanks. I'll try some netting this year.
@@astroAl76 I haven't covered the entire tree with net yet. But I would be bothered by it if I have to harvest some fruit and cover it again. In stead, I cover each and every fruit with mosquito net bags. So far, it is working for me. Birds and squirrels stay away from them as there is a possibility of their claws or beaks getting stuck in there. There nets bags even protect grapes, tomatoes. I must give credit to my German shepherd too. Cat also will be as helpful in keeping rodents and birds away.
For smaller insects, I use the organza bags for summer harvest. For rainy season I use bacillus thuringienesis! Fortnightly spray! Good luck!
White is the color to deter birds
Would you happen to know why the leaves of my small fig tree would turn yellow and fall off?
Usually, if it is more than a few leaves dropping, that is because you are either overwatering or underwatering the tree. Figs will naturally lose their leaves come fall because they are deciduous trees, but it shouldn't happen in high amounts in early to mid-summer. It's normal to lose a couple leaves here and there, and I always have a leaf yellowing here and there, but it shouldn't be a big problem. If you're seeing lots of leaves yellow on a single tree, that's usually due to improper watering or a terrible rain year.
How to get the bags and what is the cost 100 bags
Look at the muscles on this guy!
Dale is jacked and he doesn't even work out! Good genetics on him 😂
Can I also put a sheet over the plant at night
You can use insect netting. You want to use insect netting specifically, because it's breathable and can stay on the plants, basically, permanently.
I have problems with my plant'sthey are turning Yellow and my plant's are not dark green.. some buckets have mold on top of soil...😭😭😭.I planted in 5gallon buckets..can someone please help tell me what I need to do.... to save my plant's ... have holes on the bottom of buckets and I make sure the soil is not dried...does anyone have any suggestions?
hmmm, i am having some crippling thievery happening to my tomato plants. i have had about 20 tomatoes this season, 10 of them were stolen before they were ripe. them not being ripe leads me to believe it is an animal thief. though it could the neighbor kids hopping my fence. i will have to install a cage, because i lost half my harvest to thieves
Can you make a new Video abuot your satsuma tree.
Like your Videos 👍
Thanks. Citrus ripen in very late fall/winter, so there isn't much to show with my satsuma tree. It won't be satsuma season for about 5 months. The tree appears to be in an alternate-bearing cycle, probably because it fruited too heavily last year, so this year, only the "left side" of the tree fruited. It's a very interesting, unique display I've never seen and pretty wild.
My for plant turn for 4 years now in big pot in my deck apartment at the summer in winter time I keep inside but never have fruit. ..why ???
What kind of plant is it?
Does it stops ants
Sometimes, ants can still get inside, but usually they only try that hard if the fig is overripe. If you use the bags in tandem with these tips, it is very effective: th-cam.com/video/8n2_7Dl0vug/w-d-xo.html
Do you not need wasps to pollinate figs?
"Common figs" (parthenocarpic females) are the only figs I can grow, because they do not require pollination. Almost all figs grown in backyard gardens and sold in nurseries are common figs with the mutated persisted allele that allow figs to persist and ripen on the tree without pollination.
@@TheMillennialGardener Cool
Hi could you make a video how to identify a variety of fog trees … for me it’s hard to see wich one I have 🙄😲
Unfortunately, fig trees cannot be truly identified. When we lose the origin of a fig, we have to label it as "unknown." There are thousands upon thousands of varieties, and each new seedling is a unique variety because fig trees only breed from cross-pollination, so once the origin is lost, it's gone forever.
@@TheMillennialGardener ohhh I didn’t knew that , so do I need to get a second tree to get fruits ? I saw the video with the bags to protect the fruits .
Mine didn’t had any fruits yet 😪😮💨
And it’s so hot and humid here , I am in south Florida.
Any tips to help the tree produce fruits ?
I saw some videos in your channel with the fertilizer, the tree grew already a lot but no fruits yet 🙄
If they had a huge bag for the entire plant I'd try it
I actually have them linked in my Amazon Storefront in various sizes. They’re called Plant Jackets.
@@TheMillennialGardener Cool, thanks!
this takes too much time need a bag over the whole tree if i got a tree with 500 figs what to do a net over whole tree that will cost heaps better to build a cage around tree and it will last a few years and you can keep pruning the tree down every year so it never out grows the cage it migh cost 400 but will last. But its good for small amounts. not dissin your vid but not all have 5 figs to protect. All figs have a bug in them that you cant see anyway i saw on another vid and they look horrible that a net wont stop them from getting they are too small. better use a cage and net the cage for big stuff so the net dont wear out unless theres a tornado.
What you're saying is, "If it takes too much time, I'm not going to do it." That's fine if you don't want to spend the time doing it. I'm simply telling you that if you do this, you'll have more fruits for harvest because they will protect the figs from insect damage. If you want to harvest as many of those 500 figs as possible, then doing this will help accomplish that goal.
You can purchase plant jackets and insect barrier and cover the entire tree. Sure. But each tree is going to cost you anywhere from $20-50 to cover. If you have dozens or hundreds of trees, this quickly becomes unaffordable. A 100-pack of organza bags is only about $5, and since you only need to cover the figs that are in the process of ripening, a 100-pack can cover several trees. I can easily cover my entire fig collection with 3 bags for about $15, and that's 50 trees worth of production. If I were to buy insect barrier for 50 trees, I would have to spend $1,000.
Hai, u don't shave beard: looks attractive!
Can Dale sweem?
I look like I'm 12 years old when I shave 😂 Dale is scared of water. He hates getting wet. We took him to the beach last year, and he went into the ocean for the first time ever, but only to dip he paws in.
mice ate through my bags
Mice can be quite aggressive. You can try spraying the bags with cayenne pepper or garlic oil. It might keep them away.
@@TheMillennialGardener great idea
We get those horrible Japanese beetles- big & scary & aggressive! And ugly. Sometimes when the fruit is getting ripe the bugs kind of latch on & refuse to let go! 🤮🤬
Kisses for Dale😘😘😘😘
He says thank you 🐶!
Unfortunately these bags will not stop rats or raccoon
You may want to consider netting the entire tree, or placing welded wire fence around your trees, if you're having problems with large animals. These are very effective against insects and smaller predators.
@@TheMillennialGardener I am also considering owl boxes and traps. These guys stole most of my precious figs and tomatoes last summer.
Thanks for all you do, I really appreciate it