Growing apples organically

This apple tree probably looks like it has a horrible case of powdery mildew. I’m happy to report it doesn’t! What you’re seeing are leaves that have been sprayed with kaolin clay. My husband, Bill, and I have been growing apples organically for several years now. This is one of the tools in our arsenal. Our goal is to keep the dreaded apple codling moth from laying eggs on the leaves and developing apples.

How does kaolin spray work? It’s believed to confuse the moths into thinking they can’t possibly be sitting on an actual leaf or apple. That’s because of the texture the spray gives them, so they don’t lay eggs. It makes it difficult for codling moth larvae to crawl around on the tree to get to an apple.

The moths begin to appear shortly after the apple blossoms drop and the fruit begins to form.

Codling moth traps

A few weeks ago, Bill placed some codling moth traps in our small orchard. We use that as a method to determine when the moths are active in the area. The traps are sticky. While they aren’t used to control the moths, it does trap some of them. And that lets Bill know when to start spraying the apples and leaves with kaolin clay. We have to reapply it after rainstorms.

apple footies, Growing apples organically

Unfortunately, we’ve learned through experimentation that you can’t use just the kaolin spray alone. Once the apples are the size of marbles, we’ll cover them with individual nylon “footies.” They’re technically marketed as apple maggot barriers. The footies help the kaolin clay stick to the apples and last longer. Yes, it’s very tedious, especially since we usually cover about 600 apples each spring. But we team up on it and can get it done in about 3 hours. We feel it’s worth it so we can avoid using harmful chemicals. (Refer to the bottom of this post for links to sources for the products I’ve mentioned.)

Organic sprays we use

Growing apples organically

Bill also uses two other organic sprays, Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) and Spinosad. Each are deadly to the larval (worm) stage of apple codling moths, but are safe for humans. These sprays are only effective before the larvae get into the apples. He alternates between the two sprays yearly, to avoid creating a population that is resistant to either of them.

I’ll keep you posted on how the fruits are doing throughout the season. Growing apples organically can be a challenge but it’s well worth the effort!

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