Growing healthy, tasty produce

Many local homeowners are adding fruit trees to their landscapes. Fruit trees are attractive and give the added bonus of fruit.

One of the benefits of growing your own fruit is knowing exactly what was used to grow it. The homeowner is in control of the plant’s nutrition and pest control.

We all want to grow healthy, tasty produce and so it is important to be proactive in a plant’s health.

The easiest way to control pests and disease is to stay ahead of them and try to eliminate them

before they can become a problem.

I encourage homeowners to treat all their deciduous trees and shrubs with an application of lime sulphur and dormant oil in the spring, before the trees break into leaf. Lime sulphur and dormant oil helps eliminate many of the

over-wintering insects and disease.

When it is time to apply them, they are mixed together following the manufacturer’s recommendations and then sprayed on the deciduous trees and shrubs. It is important to read and follow all the instructions as the weather plays a big part as to when the product is applied. It has to be above freezing for 48 hours or more and not rain for six to seven hours.

Pruning trees helps reduce

disease and increases fruit yields.

If you are not sure how to prune a tree or have never done it before it is important to attend a pruning clinic or have a professional do it for you.

Fruit trees are pruned in the spring when the buds on the tree begins to swell. Trees are pruned according to their type and age.

Generally, all damaged, dead or diseased branches are removed first.

Next, remove any suckers as these branches are non-productive.

Branches that cross or rub each other are removed, and then you want to remove branches that grow inwards so that the air and light is able to move freely through the tree, preventing disease.

Another problem that can happen when growing apples and other fruit is small worms in the fruit. The only thing worse then finding a worm in your apple after you take a bite out of it is finding only half a worm. These worms can be controlled in the spring when the fruit tree is in bloom. There is a product available in the garden centres called a red sphere trap. Red sphere traps are a safe, preventive way to help stop worms from getting into the apples, pears, plums, cherries, blueberries, etc.

Is is pesticide-free, and easy to use. Red sphere traps, as the name suggests, attract and catch apple maggot flies, before they can lay their eggs in the trees blossoms, which is how the worm gets into the apple. The trap is round and red, and looks like an apple, which is attractive to the fly. There is a sticky coating that is brushed on the surface of the trap, and when the fly sits on the sticky coating it is trapped, preventing it from going to the apple blossoms. It works in the same manner as the sticky yellow strips that are placed in greenhouses to attract pests.

Fruit trees can be grown successfully in the Prince George area. Choose varieties that are hardy (Zone 3) for our area, plant them properly and give them the right care.