PEST INSECTS and DISEASE what’s Your Approach?

Insects and Disease in your fruit trees. Do you get them? Do you Freak out? Do you respond? Do you intervene? How do you intervene? All questions I want to examine this week.
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=== MUST WATCH VIDEOS ===
Origin story of MY Permaculture Orchard: • I HATED Tent Caterpill...
How to Plant YOUR Orchard (TRIOS): • TREE TRIOS THE KEY TO ...
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#PermacultureOrchard
#StefanSobkowiak
#Pests&Diseases

[@harmonic3350]

Work with nature not against it. I guess thats a permaculture credo. I bet the trees and critters are loving how natural your orchard is now.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Yes they do and I do too.

[@thedoubleboiler6971]

That came just in time. I LITERALLY planted my first 3 trees, yesterday.

[@Redhackle]

You are so refreshing . Really enjoy your short company every week.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@Momobeda]

I've been spam watching all of your videos and managed to catch a fresh upload too! You're a great teacher and I look forward to watching more!

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Awesome! Thank you! Keep on spam watching.

[@carlac4407]

Nice to see your orchard transformation from freezing winter landscape to spring green lush. It is so peaceful and beautiful.

[@Skashoon]

After seeing your tree guild videos and those by Perma-Pasture Farms, I’ve been growing nitrogen fixers like crazy, from seed. I have Black and Honey Locusts, Kentucky Coffee tree, Caragana, Sea Buckthorn, Lupines, Sanfoin, Lead plant, Cup plant, Redbuds, Red Alder. Planning to grow nectarines, plums, grapes and figs. Loads of perennials and annuals to intermix for a food forest. Working on learning 18 day and 30 day composting with chicken bedding/waste. Adding sheep soon. Started a worm farm as well as a standard garden and another for herbs and medicinals. Growing comfrey and mullein, too. I’m in the initial phase and trying to locate the plants and trees in zones . Most will be between my driveway and the sheep pasture. I will run my chicken tractor on this strip to make it easier to gather material and provide compost where needed. Planning a rain catchment system for watering. Interplanting alliums, Nasturtiums, daffodils and marigold near and within each guild. You and Billy have taught me an unbelievable amount of knowledge. Im very grateful for that!

[@winrockywin331]

Great video. I’m the guy who freaks out when I find a single leaf chewed on. Lol

[@davemiller3947]

Re: codling moth, in the winter I throw black oil sunflower seed up into my fruit trees once a week. Some of the seed lands on the branches, but most falls to the ground under the tree. This attracts wild birds, who spend the whole day searching the nooks and crannies of the bark, and scratching through the leaf litter on the ground looking for seeds. I’m pretty sure they also find codling moth larvae and eat them. I still get a few codling moths, but not many.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Good job. get the birds to do the work and get their enjoyment.

[@Skashoon]

Nice tip, thanks

[@michelifig6356]

😅that sounds fun

[@666Necropsy]

good idea.

[@JS-jh4cy]

Hey smartass that is good 😆

[@Jaggerbush]

This channel should have a lot more subscribers! I don't even garden but it's fun to learn all this stuff.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

So nice of you

[@afriendtoo6971]

Seems like my trees are healthier with major pruning and opening up the trees to air and sunlight. Watch overcrowding limbs. Less stress on the trees. Fresh air and sunshine is good for everyone !

[@regiodeurse6513]

don't overdo! prune to train (growing young tree) or do only selective branch removal (completely take away a faulty or hanging lower branch) on older trees. Avoid topping/heading or branch size reduction on older trees as it will lead to undesirable regrowth. You could completely ruin a trees shape and overall well being forever if you were to lets say reduce most of it's major branches by only 15-20% or so. Especially fruit trees! Know what you're doing before you start chopping especially if you care about the particular subjected tree. Otherwise practice away, observe and see what your actions do over the years.

[@timbushell8640]

And there is a vid on that around here too.

[@IvySouth2121]

When I get an unknown pest/disease, I look up to you guys to tell me if it’s beneficial or scare-worthy. Maybe there’s an indication of something less obvious 🤔

[@wojciechstrzalkowski3293]

First thing please - relax! I like it. 😏

[@ROTALOT]

I maintain sacrificial native perennials, the lettuces, asters, horseweed, thistles, and now have fewer aphid infestations on my fruit bearing understory trees and milkweeds.

[@regiodeurse6513]

sacrificial in the sense that you chop them down every now and then as mulch or? Or what do you mean with sacrificial?

[@ROTALOT]

@@regiodeurse6513 Good question! I let the aphids have at them to the point of destruction. Then into the hot compost they go. It is called trap crop. www.growveg.com/guides/trap-cropping-to-control-pests/

[@SwannReid1010]

I just woke up to this problem 😒 Thanks for the video 👍

[@mo59602]

Another great video, Stefan., packed with useful, accessible information. More please.

[@conradhomestead4518]

Excellent video! Thanks for sharing.

[@Jimmywuu636]

I have peach leaf curl. I thought it was fungi's. It was the ants fungi on them bringing it up to the leaves. I set sugar traps at the base of the trees. No more ants. No more peach leaf curl.

[@belieftransformation]

Great info, thanks! 🤗🇨🇦

[@annebeck2208]

I figured out last year that when the thatching ants were eating my blossoms that they were actually thinning my apples for me! I also found that if I left the aphids on my rose buds, the little birds came and ate them and if it harmed the buds, I still had more buds later.

[@lawrencepeceniak3908]

I have been using the "JADAM" method of insect control for the past 12 months. My apple and asian pear trees have responded very well. I make the sprays myself and they are relatively inexpensive. I haven't used any commercial fungicides or insecticides for almost 3 years now, except for JS, JMS and JHS. The other nice thing is that, these sprays are biodegradable.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Good stuff.

[@nikkitobin8356]

Thank you for this video ... I'm learning so much 🥰

[@gogoart1265]

Great work my friend 👍 Thanks for sharing your video!Stay safe always! have a nice day💕

[@carolgibson-wilson4354]

Learned a lot. I container garden right now and just remove insects, snails and slugs but let them enjoy the grasses and trees and plants on the steep hillside. I was raised to believe a healthy yard has pests and beneficial, let me eats the pests critters. I think not gardening for so long I forgot. You reminded me. Thanks.

[@heidimisfeldt5685]

😎❤ Spread finely crushed clean eggshells all around your plants, to impede the slugs and snails. That works, while also adding minerals to your garden. I keep a containers for eggshells in the kitchen, year round for that purpose, and crush them when I have enough. Also plant green onions, chives and garlic chives. You can add leeks and garlic to that. Even marigolds. All of these keep a number of pests away. Planting the root portions of green onions is pretty easy, and they do grow right back. You can also plant the root portions of leeks you buy at the grocery stores. Happy gardening to all, everyone and everywhere.

[@tanjowil9743]

Right, I will implement your suggestions and take another look at what there is..

[@showkatjami7445]

nice to know !! Thanks Stefan

[@Hola.soy.Kamile]

Great teacher!

[@markc1894]

Thx for the info ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[@Thathumanoverthere1701]

Great video and just got to see the movie. Wonderful

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the support.

[@lela1304]

I have new trees and I'm trying to learn as much as possible. It's frustrating and exciting in the same time

[@RUIGARAGE]

Obrigado

[@johnpick8336]

I have noticed many successes in "Inviting Insects To Leave" and find any other home other than mine. Tabacco, Garlic, Capsicum, Lemon Dish Soap have proven very useful when and if needed. Thank you.

[@IntegratedPestManagement]

"RELAX." Is it actually a problem? How bad is it? Some great advice in this video.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Your name says it all. I’m sure you’ve seen your share of panicking because an insect was found.

[@IntegratedPestManagement]

@@StefanSobkowiak That would be correct 😎

[@camyfernandes5204]

Good info on your videos, Thanks. Could you consider to do a video on rust on the leaves of apple trees?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

We don’t have any since there are no eastern red cedar naturally here.

[@nmnate]

Within 10' of all of my fruit trees is some sort of beneficial attracting plant (yarrow is one of my go-to's) or one of my favorite native plants (apache plume, fernbush, asters). Currently, the yarrow is covered with lady bugs, assassin bugs, robber flies and numerous native bees. I like to have a mix of different flower types as some insects have clear preferences (like honey bees on our catmint). I think the polyculture approach really does have merit, but sticking to more native plants for your region does have more benefits as the plants are generally really well behaved.

[@tcotroneo]

Some use Kaolin Clay in my area to prevent coddling moth damage

[@Skashoon]

He mentioned that in another of his videos.

[@averagearcher9523]

I have hundreds of caterpillars on all or my trees this year, even my tiny brand new planted trees. Its time to spray

[@queen452010]

No two apple trees are leafless now hundreds of those tent caterpillars chewed up every single leaf , should I relax then 🤔

[@averagearcher9523]

@queen452010 the trees should try to re leaf once . I bought bacteria spores called bt the k strain and sprayed it on my leaves. Supposedly its makes them not able to digest the leaves. But they say it only works when they are a half inch long or less. My caterpillars were the spongy moth or gypsy moth caterpillars. My fruit trees seem good but I can see signs that they are all over the rest of my forest that I couldn't spray.

[@tomdixon7264]

Always fun and informative. Pruning...we have 4 footed pruners here, the kind that taste good made into sausage and backstrap steaks. Deer nearly decimated our newly planted apples, but an electric line around the garden seems to be holding them off this year. The apple that was literally down to a broken stick 2 feet tall is coming back from the base.

[@racingjoe27]

I’ve heard pigs can be a good “trap” for plum curculio

[@ronk4073]

Hi Stefan. I planted my bare root apples trees grafted on semi-dwarf root stock, M7, in trios with the graft union at the height recommended by the nursery (2 to 3 inches above the soil line) and then mulched them with 1 inch of wood chips. 3 years later, the trees have settled deeper in the ground, and the graft union is in the mulch. I am not sure if the scion wood is rooting above the graft union into the mulch/ground. It looks like they might be? Apparently this is a common problem in orchards using dwarfing root stock, but I never read about it until trying to research this. After researching this problem, I've read it's better to plant grafted trees with the graft union 4 to 6 inches above the soil line to take into account settling. I understand that trees often do better on their own root stock and pruned to size, but I am concerned that if they are on their own root stock they will be hard to keep to a reasonable size, and I've read sometimes the root stock will die and the tree will rot internally. I do not know anyone else to ask for advice. Could you look at some pictures of the graft unions and tell me if the scion is rooting into the soil? And if so, should I cut those roots? Sorry to bother you, but I am not sure who else to ask. Also this might make a good topic to do a video on. Not just planting trees on grafted rootstock, but also trees settling, mulch, and problems from scions rooting above the graft union. Thank you for your time, I know you have other things to do.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

If the tree is already producing then train the branches (bend them) down preferably below horizontal. This will concentrate most of the trees energy into producing fruit instead of branches. Also move mulch at least 6” away from the trunk. I explain this and all pruning matters in my pruning course, link in description. Yes the better graft union height is 6”, it allows the tree to remain at the rootstock size it’s whole life.

[@Michael-vr3uf]

Stefan, would you consider making a video about the beneficial fungi outcompeting canker? It's such a bane on heavy soils, and I'm sure there are very few people around who have even heard about this possibility!

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Michael I would have needed to film it in the early years 30 years ago. Nothing left to show now. I prefer to be able to show a problem.

[@Michael-vr3uf]

@@StefanSobkowiak I understand. It's just that noone else seems able to take your place - I'm starting to lose young trees, and all I ever got in terms of canker was advice on how to hack into on them or remove them. This is one disease many starting out - who are not spraying - are left alone with.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Ok if you can find an abandoned apple tree or one that is never sprayed you can cut a branch or two and hang it in the centre of your tree. It may have some of the beneficial fungi and most likely predatory mites. Sometimes some insects are good carriers of spores. It’s a long shot but worth a try. Otherwise you just have to wait until they arrive naturally and not spray dormant oil or fungicide. A bucket of soil from below such a tree placed under your tree can help inoculate your tree as well. Good luck.

[@Michael-vr3uf]

@@StefanSobkowiak Intriguing! I dimly recalled hearing about clay/soil poultices for canker sores after reading your reply, so I'll be trying all of that; thank you!

[@Stezosledec559]

Bees don't like vinegar. Adding some vinegar to mix will prevent caching them.

[@Agrillot6]

Every single one of my apples was completely deformed and horrible looking. Best apples I ever tasted, I had to cut around so many gross spots. Sometimes the core was so crooked that there was nothing in one side. I had apples the size of golf balls to the size of tennis balls.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Deformed to one side often indicates the apples were only half pollinated. More pollinators would help.

[@melvingomez9144]

Any update on the plum curcuio ?😅

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Still around.

[@JSears-io3rd]

My asian pear gas blight. Can you tree blight or should I burn it?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

You can just cut off the affected part.

[@mchopeck]

Do the nitrogen fixers make the apples and pears more prone to fire blight due to more nitrogen in the soil?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

I doubt we have more than a fertilized orchard. Possible, all issues relating to nitrogen fixers needs some in depth research.

[@NashvilleMonkey1000]

So the plant sugar levels indicate its energy reserves, and building plant defences is expensive to make for the plant, so if it has lots of reserves, then it should have everything firmly in place, like all its plant defences~ I thought sugar content measured its deliciousness, and would more likely be eaten. That explains why the bad tasting lettuce was getting eaten to the ground and the good tasting arugula was completely intact~

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Yes, exactly

[@NashvilleMonkey1000]

Oh okay, so we just need varieties that are genetically predisposed to make the most relevant plant defences for our area. Also, someone told me that my sour strawberries are just a fast-ripening variety, or does it mean the plants are still developing/establishing, and will get to making reserves when it does? The plants are from the seeds of an intensely sour batch of strawberries, and the resulting plants have variable intensities of sourness.

[@NashvilleMonkey1000]

Oh, that also means that storing heavily expensive genetics in a single variety is exceedingly inefficient, and that it's far better to store the traits spread out in an entire plant population, so as not to overburden every plant, that's why monoclones are so weak compared to their wild counterparts~

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Never heard of sour strawberry. Every fruit ripens seed but the flesh can be variable in taste. You can usually check ripeness by the seed colour.

[@MattyDemello]

I have 25 year old blueberry tree's and last summer for the first time all the leaves had diseases on them and it looked done. Well I guess my cold Massachusetts freezing winter killed the fungus because this summer had no more diseases or fungus on any leaves. Was only last year. This year, I planted 2 plum trees and a 5 in 1 apple tree and im upset because the apple tree from the store had fungus i didn't noticed until it was in the ground and now my 2 plum trees have the same fungus. Im hoping that the same thing happens like with my blueberry trees. Where winter kills the fungus and summer of 2024 has no more fungus

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Fungal infections happen more in wet springs. Varies Year to Year.

[@MattyDemello]

@StefanSobkowiak ohhh. Makes sense. I'm new to all this

[@JS-jh4cy]

What is the title of the soil book 📖 you recommended

[@JS-jh4cy]

I been trying to find the title for almost a year

[@JS-jh4cy]

I miss what you said Stefan on the one video that you mentioned

[@StefanSobkowiak]

The soil and health by Sir Albert Howard

[@gardeningjunkie2267]

Is there any way to grow just one or two varieties in a small garden without causing too many insect problems? Specifically I'm interested in growing nectarines.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Sure just add shrubs and perennials beneath the trees. Every bit helps.

[@gardeningjunkie2267]

@@StefanSobkowiak Thank you, I really value your advice. My garden has never looked better since I stopped treating with insecticides.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Fantastic and life returns.

[@Inklenation]

And definitely the first like 👍

[@Marcosworld77]

what causes an infestation of whitefly?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Similar conditions to aphids as they are also sap sucking insects. Try holding off on fertilizer and switch to liquid seaweed.

[@Marcosworld77]

@@StefanSobkowiak thanks Stephan for the info.

[@helenk8468]

apple cedar rust??? Help?? Suggestions??

[@StefanSobkowiak]

If there is one cedar on your property consider removing it. If they are all over then consider using rust resistant apples. You can overgraft your existing apple trees to rust resistant ones.

[@helenk8468]

@@StefanSobkowiak is there another solution?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Look up my whey video as a spray. Cedar apple rust is a fungus so whey should work.

[@helenk8468]

@@StefanSobkowiak garlic spray? Natural sulphur. I used it last year no problems, but this year i didn't. Maybe carry both whey and garlic?

[@SeemsFutileNow]

I'm concerned as well about what goes unnoticed, right under our feet. Worms are being taking over by these invasive Wiggler worms.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Hate to burst your bubble but earthworms are not native to North America.

[@666Necropsy]

red Wiggler worms have changed forests by lakes. these worms over populate the current worms in forested areas and change the PH of the soil. this leads to destruction of the forest into meadows and grassland. just another way forests are being attacked. it is a known problem.

[@Inklenation]

Definitely the second

[@Inklenation]

Hello.. I think I’m very very early.

[@Inklenation]

So many people want to be first. I prefer to help the algorithm.. but my reaction is… “how bad is it”.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

It's actually great this year for me. A little drama, but based on the comments it's not the same everywhere.

[@domirodrigo9615]

Dommage vous me plaisez, mais de grâce mettez une traduction, tous le monde à 70ans ne metrise pas votre langue si vous mettez votre vidéo sur KZbin c est pour tous le monde non !

[@StefanSobkowiak]

C'est pour cela que j'ai débuté une chaîne Française (Le Verger Permaculturel)

[@domirodrigo9615]

@@StefanSobkowiak merci j irai voir