Crazy Happenings In The Garden

So. Yes. I am having a new experience in my garden. As my grandmothers were, I’m also usually always home. I visit my family but mostly around Christmas time when my garden is asleep. This year I’m finding out what happens when you aren’t home to stop disasters!

There were bees and hornets all over the fig tree. I don’t mind feeding bees, but I needed to be able to grab or knock out this rotten stuff. I couldn’t have done it without the spray. I would definitely have gotten stung.

This time around: the problem is my fig tree. The figs on this tree are kind of bland. I’ve relegated them to preserving and wine. However, I was out of state when the figs started ripening. I was also too sick this spring to prune it back like I usually do. It’s a mess. Wasps, bees, gnats, rotten mummified fruit up IN the tree, moldy fermented slime on the ground. Apparently, this tree does not self clean its fruit.

I’ve never let it go like this, so I had no idea it could get this bad. I have three fig trees. The other two should have better fruit, but man! I couldn’t do anything because of the hornets and bees all over the over ripe fruit, eating all the fruit and syrup. They even removed all of the resin on the closed eyes, creating a vector to spoil the interior of the fruit.

I didn’t want to spray pesticides out there, but I needed help. So I bought the cheapest hose end sprayer with essential oils to repel bugs. This was specifically marketed for kennels and fleas, but whatever. It’s essential oils and soap. That’s basically all I needed. I really just wanted the sprayer. I can mix up my own soap and oil when this is empty and reuse the bottle.

I sprayed the tree. It was dripping soapy, bubbles and it smelled nice from the oils. It probably killed a bunch of insects up in the tree, but it didn’t take long for the bees and hornets to land on the fruit again. So in that short window: I climbed my step ladder and knocked out anything rotting or previously covered with stinging insects. I harvested what was ripe and said, “That’s enough. I give up.” To the stuff out of reach on high branches (although I took a pole and knocked out some of the worst ones that I could see.)

I got a great harvest of figs for the second time this week. I cleaned the tree up (although the ground is still a mess) AND I did not get stung doing it. If you have have a billion bees and hornets where you are trying to work: I recommend this type of spray. They aren’t all going to leave, but they seemed to stay up at the very top of the tree and leave me alone while I was pulling on branches to get to the fruit that needed to be removed.

Overall, good day in the garden. I’d definitely buy and use this spray again! Very effective. Meet you out under the fig tree for a basket full of figs.

Crazy Green Thumbs

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