Bagging fruit for worm free organic apples and pears

[@annebird9195]

Oh sweet! Didnt realize you were local in utah when I clicked on this! I might stick around, local tips are often the ones that work.

[@lwjenson]

Thanks for making content about this!

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Our pleasure

[@bobbrawley2612]

Oh yes those organza bags look a lot easier to fit on

[@foodscapingutah5239]

We really think they are lot's easier and worked great!

[@tpangle17]

Excellent video! Thank you!

[@yassinouchnan9838]

You are a big mine of good info for people like me. Thanks a lot for sharing. God bless.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

yassin OUCHNAN you’re welcome!

[@nl5607]

The fruit grown in Japan 🇯🇵 is crazy imo. This reminds me of what they did. Beautiful expensive fruit.........square watermelon 🍉 anyone 🤔😉✌️😎

[@splintercat]

Did you know those square watermelons actually don't taste as good as a real watermelon? They aren't able to reach full maturity in the mold so it's just like eating an unripe melon! They are incredibly satisfying to look at, though!

[@MichelleHernandezcraftymaven]

My tree barely has any leaves yet- woo there is a huge difference in climate for our area.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Yeah there really can be big differences! Our trees are a couple weeks behind where they were last year. Are you at a higher elevation?

[@vistaprime]

We usually have a 100% coddling moth rate in our apples. Can you tell me the ideal time to place bags over apples to protect them from the worms. As soon as the blooms drop or is it better to wait until the apples start to form. We are using the similar organza mesh fruit protection bags you used which allow full sunlight through. But we want to time this perfectly so the blooms are pollinated and spent and not enough time for moths to have laid eggs. Can you provide some guidance to me on this. thanks

[@marksogge5745]

Excellent video. I really appreciate the clear presentation and the fact that you actually compared results. Thanks to you, I've given bagging a try this year using mesh, paper sandwich bags, and some Japanese paper apple bags. Will see how it all plays out. But my question: the paper Japanese apple bags I could find didn't have the double layer like yours. Tore easily, so overall not as good a quality as yours. Can you let us know the vendor/brand for the ones you used? Thanks so much!!

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Hi Mark. Sorry for the slow reply. Unfortunately, I can't remember the supplier of the Japanese apple bags that we used. I think I try to source them a year or two later and they no longer carried them. I do believe there are a few supplies out there now though. Have you found other options?

[@mryantaylor]

So useful. 🙂

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Thank you!

[@NoVaCitrusGrower]

At what size should the fruit be when you begin to bag?

[@terinbee9198]

Shortly after blossom drop in spring, while the apples are still quite small. I waited a LITTLE too long this year and bagged mine in mid June (in the PNW), and a few apples did already end up having larvae at that point. But the ones I did bag in time not only didn’t get infested, they were also way larger and more flavorful than past years ! I’ll ABSOLUTELY be doing this me5id again, and the mesh organza bags are in great condition ready for reuse.

[@KatherineRoseArt]

so how did the organza bags work out? i bought some on amazon. the ones i got are lime green, not white though.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Organza bags have been great. They have not been 100% effective but over the years we've managed around 90% control with them. The most challenging aspect is getting the timing right. It is crucial that they are on before the first generation of coddling moth starts laying eggs, but that can happen when the fruit are relatively small. If the fruit are too small, they won't support the weight of the bags in a wind storm. Long story short, it is totally doable and has worked well for us, but we pay close attention to timing.

[@kathrynepaul]

I have used green successfully.

[@vickifrydrych7301]

Aren't the eggs smaller than the organza weave?

[@foodscapingutah5239]

The moths can't get to the fruit to be able to lay eggs through the organza bags. Maybe some organza weaves are different than others, but ours have really small holes and the fruit typically isn't up against the bag.

[@AussieHack]

Trying Organza bags in Melbourne Australia this season. Did you happen to put them over the full cluster of apples after petal fall, then on individual fruits after thinning? I thought this might be a good option to avoid having to time the bagging perfectly

[@foodscapingutah5239]

That might be a good idea! We haven't tried putting bags on that early. So far we have gotten the timing just about right. However, I think we might have been slightly late this year as a few pears ended up with worms. A pheromone trap might be another idea to help with the timing.

[@takla3210]

Did the organza bags workout well? How did the coddling moth damage compare "with and without bag" ?

[@AussieHack]

Apples and pears finished early May. Organza bags were a massive success against codling moth. Doesn't stop birds so needed to net as well. Be sure to get decent size bags. I had one Williams pear burst a bag. It weighed 400g!

[@Carule1947]

Will organza bag work on guava trees.

[@AussieHack]

@@Carule1947 only for insect pests not birds

[@takla3210]

Would be great if you can tell us which organza bag you ordered since it's crucial that there's no gap at the weave.

[@foodscapingutah5239]

They are the 5x7 inch organza bags. Here's an Amazon Affiliate link if you want to check them out: amzn.to/35VE68z

[@miketaylor3408]

How many seasons have the bags lasted? I imagine they’re not UV resistant.

[@takla3210]

@@miketaylor3408 Multiple seasons actually. In my area, end result was that the pears were still infected on 90% of the bagged fruits, inspite of the organza bags being perfectly shut. I tried big and small bags. Same result. I instead used ziplock bags the next season. This does work, but it takes lot more time putting them up, and about 20% of them fall down over time. If it rains, and there's a small opening in the bag, it'll fill up and get heavy and fall, but I'd say worth a try, since there's no other option I can think of.

[@terinbee9198]

Look specifically for polyester or acrylic, which is more UV resistant than acrylic and lasts longer

[@lauraanne7700]

Thanks for the video. I tried these bags on peaches this year and it helped a bit. UN bagged were 100% full of worms. But some of the plum curculio laid eggs right through the bag! Next year I will try a waxed paper liner in the bag.

[@jean-francoisrullier3631]

Thanks for sharing this. This year I tried to wrap some pears in freezer bags on roll, locked with twist ties like this : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twist_tie. Result is quite good, but some bags have been drilled by insects. I will try organza bags method next springtime...

[@foodscapingutah5239]

Great. Glad it was helpful!

[@marisafrancaise]

Do you have a brand of organza bags you recommend? Can I just get the cheapest 5X7 on amazon?

[@foodscapingutah5239]

I think most of them should work fine. We looked locally but the only ones we could find were much more expensive than Amazon. Here's an Amazon Affiliate link to the ones we use if you want to check them out: amzn.to/35VE68z

[@marisafrancaise]

Thank you!