Pictured above is possibly my greatest pride and joy. It is my beautiful, glorious tropical dwarf Anna. I adore this apple tree. Growing up on the Gold Coast I never actually saw any, but a lifetime of reading about them in books left me with a vision of windfall apples, and for some reason, rosy apple cheeks.
I'm not too sure I am going to get either windfall or apple red cheeks here, but it is a lovely vision.
I am dying to grow apples. Dying to. I am patient though, I am happy to wait. Anna fruited last year but the teeny little apples fell off, and that's okay. I went out and bought her a Golden Dorset as a friend. I am patient in my wait for windfall and red cheeks.
I am not patient, however, with whatever (*&^%$@!$%^(*) rodent is eating every single leaf, bud, and shoot from my beloved tree. Every single one. I see the tree bud, and voila, the next day it is gone. I have been shaking my fists and jumping up and down on the spot for weeks now. My lovely apple tree which should be in full bloom, is nothing but a collection of bare sticks.
Back off rodent.
Or I'm pulling out the big guns.
Oh and I almost forgot.
Here are the oranges :)
16 comments:
I sometimes think that with rodents, possums, birds, goats and chickens that it would be easier to just go shopping. *sigh* Hope you catch the bugger!
How maddening. How very very maddening and disappointing. Definitely rodent?
Is Mrs.Goggins not earning her keep??
Hazel, lets just count ourselves lucky that we aren't farmers! What a life hey...
Esther I think so. I can't think of what else could nibble off all the greenery so quickly and so completely. They are always chewed right down to a stump.
Mark, Mrs Goggins is getting fat... and kind of lazy. But in her defence, I keep her indoors at night. I actually have a big rodent trap (a humane one) that I want to set up under the tree. Then we'll see!
Shame, You might have to go on night watch!
I have Talon wax blocks all over the place here....we just have to as with all the chook food and fruit in our yard, we have lots of rats and mice running around....if we dont bait, I hate to think what the place would be like...we live in an old almond growing neighbourhood so vermin and white ants are everywhere as alot of the old trees , like ours are still in yards....so yeah, as much as its yuk, the baits are the answer and to keep at it regularly. Oh, and dont send any of that in with my bananas thanks Ali.
Not Ratsak! It's kinda fatal ;-) Now if you want non-toxic but gruesome, try Joseph's bait: equal parts of bi-carb of soda and flour, mix with water to a paste. Leave baits around in sheltered spots - rats never go in the open, always follow a wall or similar shelter. The idea is that they don't fart so the alkali reacts with the stomach acid and makes bubbles. So exploding rats, not nice for the rat but at least non-toxic. And what is a 'humane' rat trap? I've seen 'humane' mice traps and all they do is catch them alive so the person has to either kill them themselves or let them go somewhere else. Shifting the problem somewhere else is no solution.
Anna needs a haircut - deciduous trees need to be tamed each year. Reduce those branches by at least a half. Meantime, deal with the rats then Anna will shoot again once she's over the pruning.
Seems rats are a problem everywhere at the moment. I get what you are saying, not great. Don't quite know what to suggest, you trying putting something around the bottom of the tree that would prevent anything from climbing it. In the parks here they put a strip of metal around the trunks of trees so the possums can't climb them. good luck. Leanne
Oh thank you Leanne :) Unfortunately just next to the tree is a wire fence, it's perfect for a rat/possum to hang from whilst denuding my lovely tree! I obviously didn't think that one through.
Elaine, I have pruned my tree, do you think I was maybe a bit too careful!? I read for days on the subject before taking to it with the shears, I was going for a multitrunk vase shape... I could cut it back more if you think that would be best? It won't kill it will it, to be trimmed so soon again?
And yes, my humane trap is one where we catch them and then I get someone else to drown them... I can't leave open baits around with the children and dog and our cat.
Suzanne I will make a mental note to take it out of your package :D
Gooseberry Jam, with a rocking chair and shotgun??
Apples are lovely. Rats are the pits. Good luck with those rotten vermin. cheers Wendy
You do get some interesting comments on your posts Ali. Exploding rats!?!
Hee hee, that's Elaine, she wants to pop them like water balloons!
Elaine I gave Anna another haircut... I think I should have taken her to the hairdresser... oops.
Multi-trunk vase ... hmmm I only know a vase with a single trunk. I'd be wary of more than one trunk in case it's the rootstock which is shooting. Wine glass (maybe that's aka vase) I believe the more traditional prune is but there's many and I've not studied them much. I'd leave the pruning for now anyway and let Anna get along with annaing; you can do more next season.
I'll have a look at the site I followed to prune the apple tree Elaine, the instructions were pretty comprehensive. I've already given Anna another haircut, I think I may have ruined the lovely shape she had a little, but it's a bit late to worry about that now!
On the plus side, out dog is digging holes... which means he's got something to bury... And I am hoping it's a BIG FAT RAT!
Ali we live in Brissy too, and if your yard is anything like ours at night I'd be betting on a ringtail possum. They adore our mulberry and guava and like the new leaves and flowers the best. If you can put up a barrier to stop whatever it is reaching from the fence, you can wrap a sheet of plastic (the big thick sheets like you get from bunnings in the alsonite aisle) around the trunk and the possums or rats won't be able to climb up it. Works for pawpaws :) Until the flying foxes find them anyway.
oh Ali I so look forward to seeing what happens with your apple tree. I am north of Brisbane and would love to grow apples and pears but with the hot summers I am not sure how it will go. We do get frosts in winter so perhaps....
I have planted a quince tree and am on the lookout for low chill varieties.
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