Saturday, May 07, 2011

Why perfect organic apples are rare and costly

This is one of the most fiddly things I've done to date out here: A technique I picked up from an organic methods article to help achieve apples that are neither full of bugs (big No Want), or hopelessly scarred (eh, whatever, I ain't selling to no supermarket - long as the flavor is good, they can be as fugly as they like).

So, you take Ziplock sandwich bags, zip them around your budding apples, poke a couple small holes for drainage, and there you are. Hopefully, these protected fruits will be worm-free and unblemished.

And it took approximately forever to do just a couple dozen 'test apples.'

Which is probably why a supermarket organic apple of perfect skin is so danged price. I can't imagine doing a whole tree, let alone a whole ORCHARD!

(Our bug problem is epic this year. LOTS of 100% crop death. Bitter reminder about why it was that we humans worked so hard to develop the pesticides we now disdain...)


2 comments:

Science PhD Mom said...

You can try using pantyhose footies instead. The worms inside apples are usually caused by the apple coddling moth, and they don't like the nylon netting of the pantyhose, so they won't lay their eggs on your apples. It's breathable and therefore less likely to cause mildew or mold on your apples if it's rainy. I have seriously considered offering to buy a box of nylon footies from my local shoe store, because they are hard to find! Or just make your own with some cheap pantyhose & sewing machine (what I ended up doing). Happy gardening!

Dayna Burgeson said...

You can buy little nylon footies for your apples from organic farm supply stores and they work very well. I have more information about it on my website and pictures of how to use them on the link below:
http://californiamediterraneandiet.com/2012/05/29/all-the-best-dressed-apples-are-wearing-pantyhose-this-year/
I bought mine for less than 10 cents each and they should be able to be used over and over again