August Permi8 gathering

[A belated report, sorry] A brave crew of Permi8 people gathered at Lou and Emmo's in early August, dodging the showers to take a look at all going on at their ever-inspring property.

There was plenty of discussion around the pruning of fruit trees. Lou and Emmo have some free standing, 'vase' shaped trees as well as others being trained in various ways on trellises. It was interesting to hear particpants' different approaches to pruning as well as the pros and cons of growing trees grafted onto dwarf rootstock. 

It was noted that this year may be an interesting one for peach leaf curl, as many people had found it hard to time spraying for this in between all the rain we've been having.

The discussion also touched on some of the tips and information provided at the Seed Savers' Fruit Fly information session in the weeks prior. This included the roles of traps (monitoring the presence of FF), baits (designed to kill), exclusion (netting whole trees or limbs/fruit using bags and sleeves) and other ways to repel or manage them (encouraging predators, fruit choice, removing protein sources, taking a community-wide approach). Ultimately fruit fly control requires ongoing effort and won't be solved by a single solution used once.

As the showers threatened once more, we took the opportunity to enjoy a cuppa and snacks in the cosy confines of the house. Thanks to our hosts and happy pruning everyone.

    .