Fruit Tree fails. Help?

[Itokuzu]

I have 3 fruit trees in my back yard, plum, nectarine, and I think peach? Something continues to eat the budding fruit off the nectarine, and bugs are devouring the leaves on the plants. I have chickens that free range, and a dog, so chemicals are way out of the question. I already have cds hanging on the branches and they seem to do nothing. Anyone more experienced have any advice? Thanks in advanced!

 

[so lucky]

I would think the CDs would only scare away the birds that might eat the offending bugs. Why don't you check out some alternative sprays for next year. You can use horticultural oil to keep away bugs that come before blossoming and lay eggs that eat the fruit later. It also is good to prevent scale insects. Neem oil is relatively safe to use. People use neem in their toothpaste, I have read.
Even gardeners who are not opposed to using pesticides, often find that fruit trees are too much trouble to get edible fruit, and eventually give up.
If you get to the point that you have good fruit next year, consider netting the trees just before the fruit gets ripe, to keep the birds at bay. If your dog runs free, he should be able to keep the squirrels away. If not, Valley Ranch suggests using a circle or two of electric fence high enough to not get the chickens, but that the squirrels would have to cross.

At the very least, dormant oil spray should be used. There's always next year. That's what I continually tell myself.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Itokuzu, welcome. Glad you have joined us. I really hope you will stick around. If you do stick around it could help us if you modify your profile to include your general area. Knowing your climate can make a lot of difference in our posts.

Could you please give us a little more details on what us going on? At what stage is the budding fruit being eaten? What does the damage look like? Perhaps photos? Our comments and suggestions will have more meaning if we know better what we are dealing with. Is it deer, perhaps rodents, or maybe bugs eating the fruit.

I have the same questions on the leaves. Are the entire leaves gone (maybe with branches), a few holes in the leaves, or specific parts of the leaves missing? Can you identify the bugs? There may be some pesticides perfectly safe for chickens, dogs, and you that would solve the problem (such as BT if it is caterpillars), but before I use any pesticide I very much want to know exactly what I am dealing with.

In general insects eating some leaves is not a problem. The trees can handle that fine, but I have had fruit trees stripped by deer and by grasshoppers that did cause a serious problem. General rules of thumb can be beneficial but they do not apply to every situation.

Once again,

 

[catjac1975]

I have 3 fruit trees in my back yard, plum, nectarine, and I think peach? Something continues to eat the budding fruit off the nectarine, and bugs are devouring the leaves on the plants. I have chickens that free range, and a dog, so chemicals are way out of the question. I already have cds hanging on the branches and they seem to do nothing. Anyone more experienced have any advice? Thanks in advanced!

There are lots of organics products that will help. Look at Arbico. Nectarines seem to be very hard. Cut mine down.They are a lot of work.

 

[Nyboy]

@majorcatfish who is a very respected gardener here, once posted a photo of his orchard. It was a empty field, fruit trees where to much trouble. I just planted one, spray, spray and more spray. If you don't want to spray plant fig trees. Good Luck

 

[catjac1975]

Plant berries for no care or spraying. I did give up strawberries because of the weeding. But, Blackberries, blueberries and raspberries are easy a delicious.

 

[Nyboy]

 

[Smart Red]

Welcome to TEG, @Itokuzu. Glad to have you growing with us!

 

[majorcatfish]

love to see some photos of the bitten fruit.....
but yes neem oil is a good start.....