Seattle Tree Fruit Society

As of February 2023, Seattle Tree Fruit Society (STFS) no longer is selling maggot barriers (MBs) for funding STFS educational activities.

MBs can now be easily purchased over the internet (search: maggot barriers), through Amazon or at area nurseries. Recently, in the Seattle area, nurseries stocking MBs have included Sky , Swansons , Cloud Mountain (Everson) , West Seattle , Sunnyside (Marysville) , Squak Mountain (Issaquah) , City People’s Sandpoint , & My Garden Nursery (Bellingham). Please contact these reputable nurseries directly to check for MB availability.

The STFS website still provides instructions for covering fruitlets with MBs.

STFS’s limited remaining MB inventory will be available to STFS members at upcoming in-person STFS events.

MBs protect apples, pears and other fruits from apple maggot flies, codling moths and other pests.

Spots & cankers|lesions on your apple trees’ leaves, branches & developing fruits? It may be apple scab &|or anthracnose which longtime STFS|WCFS backyard orchardists report as being really bad in western Washington 2022. More on apple anthracnose @ STFS’s monthly newsletter edition USP 40 07 2022 July

In 2022, STFS Extreme Maggot Barriers from Seattle Tree Fruit Society are again being sold right now to fund educational activities.

Click here to order STFS Extreme Maggot Barriers now.

STFS Extreme Maggot Barriers protect apples, pears and other fruits from apple maggot flies, codling moths and other pests.

Click here for directions on how to cover and protect fruits with STFS Extreme Maggot Barriers.

The HKBP (Hardy Kiwifruit Breeding Project), organized by Kiwibob Glanzman, is intended to be a Worldwide collaborative effort to create a hybrid Kiwiberry with the smooth skin of the Hardy Kiwifruit (Actinidia arguta) that weighs around 50 grams (about the size of a chicken’s egg), by crossing arguta x chinensis var. chinensis (Kiwi Gold). While progress toward the HKBP goal has been hampered for several years by lack of suitable male pollinators and some unforeseen compatibility issues, 2020 efforts to create a large USA pool of potential male chinensis pollinators have yielded a much larger than expected number of seeds. 

We need to find willing growers to germinate some of these seeds and raise them to the point where they can be evaluated as possible breeding parents in the ongoing hybridization efforts.

In the lower elevations of Western Washington we have a climate where we can grow most species of Actinidia outdoors with little concern of Winter damage. 

As of August 2021, Kiwibob now has many seedlings growing as part of his Kiwi hybridization project – F1 hybrids between Actinidia chinensis & Actinidia arguta, as well as other crosses and open-pollinated seedlings.  Kiwibob is still looking for “foster homes” for these seedlings as they grow and develop.

If you are willing to germinate seeds and have the space to raise the seedlings in pots (about 5 gallon size) for 3-5 years until they can be grafted, then several more years when they can be evaluated, please let me know via the comment form on page A1.02 of my website: 

https://kiwifruitsalsa.wordpress.com

When you visit the website, be sure to download the most recent HKBP Report from page A1.02, and review all previous Reports!

Hardy Kiwifruit Breeding Project Update by Kiwibob Glanzman, HKBP organizer

For years, Lori Brakken, Lifetime STFS member, has donated her time traveling to fall fruit shows throughout the Puget Sound area and beyond helping growers identify their treasured mystery apples. As the Covid-19 pandemic lingers, Lori is minimizing in-person activities while maintaining ID outreach.

For apple ID, complete the Apple ID Form (pdf or MS Word document) then follow the attached instructions for contacting then sending apples to Lori. Monetary donations are welcomed which Lori will accept and forward to fund the activities of the Humboldt Preservation Project in Eureka, CA.

Apple ID by Lori Brakken in 2021 Socially Distanced

Lifetime and longtime STFS member Marilyn T. reported this past Friday (5/21/21) a total of 10 adult codling moths caught already during 2021 in a trap located near the Seward Park area of South Seattle. Reminder: adult codling moths lay eggs on or around pome fruit trees; larvae emerging from these eggs chew into developing fruit leaving behind a dark brown excrement-filled path and core. Yuck.

Always thorough and thoughtful towards amateurs, Marilyn took the time to type out that several nearby (Woodinville and Puyallup) WSU AgWeatherNet weather stations had recorded by last Friday “growing degree day (°F) accumulation base temp 50 °F” or “DD base 50” data of slightly less than 175.

175 is the DD base 50 threshold for first emergence of codling moth and was established from WSU research published in Orchard Pest Management. Marilyn mentions that this threshold is based on observations made in central WA, but also appears to be an accurate predictor in western WA.

In short, Marilyn has observed adult codling moth flying already in Seattle, and nearby WSU weather data coupled with pest management protocols predict codling moth first generation emergence as of now in and around King County. So…

Whatever your strategy to protect your pome fruitlets from codling moth, you should implement it now right after thinning fruitlets to one and only one per cluster.

Click on link Pome Thinning and Barrier Protection for pages from recent STFS newsletter covering pome thinning, codling moth, apple maggot and barrier protection options.

Click on link Extreme Maggot Barriers for ordering information on these nylon footies sold by STFS. STFS will have Extreme Maggot Barriers for sale with no shipping costs on Saturday June 5^th 10 AM to noon at STFS demonstration orchard in NE Seattle’s Magnuson Park.

Barrier netting is also available to STFS members but must be pre-ordered. See Pome Thinning … link above for details.

To lessen COVID-19 spread, the Seattle Tree Fruit Society meeting Saturday May 15^th 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM is only online.The meeting will begin with a brief business meeting, followed by a presentation by author Ann Ralph.

Why Little? Grow A Little Fruit Tree offers a revolutionary vision for backyard fruit trees: a simple and ingenious technique that uses timed pruning to keep fruit trees as short as six feet tall… …they are easy to care for and produce fruit in quantities we’re likely to be able to use. Small trees create the opportunity to have more trees in the backyard and to plant different varieties of fruit to ripen all summer, through fall, and even into winter.

Timed pruning offers a revolutionary approach to fruit tree care, winter prune for shape and summer prune to keep trees small and easy. This presentation covers fruit tree basics: the simple logic of pruning, how to prune for short stature and easy harvest, early training, seasonal routines, and pest and disease control. You’ll learn about the benefits of small trees, getting started, pruning for aesthetics, and how to engage in the pleasures of the pruning conversation.

Ann Ralph is the author of Grow a Little Fruit Tree: Simple Pruning Techniques for Small-Space, Easy-Harvest Fruit Trees. Publishers Weekly called it “a thrilling read for the backyard farmer.” She was the fruit tree specialist at Berkeley Horticultural Nursery and has 20 years of retail nursery experience. She promotes practical, artful, and commonsense methods for the garden generally and fruit trees in particular.

Goodie U, STFS Board Member, reminds everyone that the Ann Ralph zoom meeting will be recorded so attendees not wanting to be recorded should mute microphone and turn off their video. Goodie U made the upcoming Ann Ralph presentation happen. Thanks, Goodie.If you know any non-STFS individual interested in attending this zoom meeting, please forward this zoom invite so more can benefit from Ann’s presentation.

Zoom invite info

The most recent version of free Zoom software can be downloaded onto your computer from https://zoom.us/download. Zoom Client for Meetings probably will work best.

Mike Ewanciw is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Seattle Tree Fruit Society meeting & Presentation

Time: May 15, 2021 10:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/ 83884386229?pwd= dGhmR1oyZlJXQzNtRGFQRVpkdmJmQT 09

Meeting ID: 838 8438 6229

Passcode: 003071

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Meeting ID: 838 8438 6229

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To lessen COVID-19 spread, STFS member meeting Saturday Mar 20^th 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM is only online.

Mike Ewanciw (email mikewan@aol.com) will lead meeting beginning with short business meeting followed by longtime STFS member and grafter Greg Giuliani’s demonstration of whip & tongue (including splice) and omega tool (saddle-like) grafts. Zoom attendees may want to perform grafting during meeting and get advice from Greg and other participants on grafting steps.

STFS members were emailed zoom invite info from STFS sent 3/16/21.

See STFS Extreme Maggot Barriers website tab or click on STFS Extreme Maggot Barrier order form.

Continuing COVID-19 spread precautions, STFS 2021 spring grafting event is virtual. See STFS 2021 Grafting Event Ordering Instructions for available scion wood and rootstock as well as ordering and delivery logistics. First deadline for ordering is March 6, 2021. Act soon; supplies limited.