I hate to discourage you but it's probably not going to happen in central IL. I guess it could depend on your definition of "central" I've heard people refer to halfway across southern IL as central and people call Champaign central. I'm near the geographical center, to me that is central.
You may get by for a few years organic but eventually the fruit tree pests will find you and being organic they will get out of control before you know it. IPM would be a better way to start so you don't let them become a problem before it happens.

I don't know about your particular soil, maybe the blueberries will work but I tried hundreds of dollars of blueberries and failed. The only other option was non-organic soil adjustment which I didn't want to do. Maybe you live in an acidic pine forest in IL. If not it's probably not going to work going by my experience.

Raspberries are no problem. Strawberries aren't a big problem, mostly slugs and birds.
Vegetable garden isn't a problem, in fact leave it totally alone long enough and nature will probably provide most of the controls you need. I have a problem with flea beetles, but a mile away my brother doesn't so they're hit and miss. Corn borer seems to be more intent on the fields. Ear worm is easy to eat around (but you can use BT if you really want), and if you plant to extend ripening you can usually throw them off with a harvest or two and they'll only hit one planting. Vine bores are a problem, keep the tendrels covered and they will root ahead of the borers to keep the plants alive.

Your main problem is the trees. You didn't say what trees. Pears do pretty good without any help (unless you get fireblight). Nothing else really does.

I think Apple Maggot Fly and Codling Moth can be reliably controlled with pheromones, BT or traps.

Plum curculio is bad and there simply isn't an organic control other than barriers. We get too much hard spring rain for Surround to be practical. So bagging for the large fruit, no solution for cherries, which they will go after if you keep them off your apples and plums. Bagging also takes care of the above two major problem pests.

Borers. A problem with cherries, plums, peaches, etc. Again no organic control. We don't (only) get the big ones where you can easily see a hole and dig it out. You notice a dying branch with a million tiny holes on it. If you tried to dig them all out you would do as much damage as the bugs.
If you didn't prevent them with a chemical spray your option is to cut the branch off and burn it. Then they'll find a different branch. Eventually they will hit low enough on the tree that it dies.

The chemical control (for home owners) for curculio and borers is pyrethroids. Technically pyrethrum is "organic" but it's just as bad to you and your kids as a synthetic version and you would have to spray it so often that it's going to end up being worse to the environment and expose you to more of it. "Organic" does not mean "safe" by any means.

Japanese Beetles have moved in and they will completely defoliate fruit trees if left alone. I would try milky spore. Expensive but long lasting.

Assuming you're in the country whitetail are going to be a big problem with everything. A tall fence, tall trees, dogs, maybe some repellent. You wouldn't be able to kill enough to make a difference other than to make you feel better about getting something to eat off the land.

Disease.
You're pretty good here. Cherry leaf spot can be a problem if you don't have early morning sun. Scab shouldn't be a problem if you got resistant varieties. Very rarely does powdery mildew hit any vegetables hard enough to keep them from producing.
Cedar Apple Rust might be a problem if you can't control it at the cedar trees.
Keep the orchard floor clean of leaves, spray dormant sprays, keep the trees healthy and you should be fine most years.
That's basically for apples and cherries. When I was organic the borers never gave me a chance to experience disease on plums.

You could also try the Organic Forum.

Mykl, when you tried organic, it was before the advent of Surround, wasn't it? Isn't it possible that one could have reasonable success with this as their central insect "control" product? It seems to work well enough here in southeastern NY. Works OK down south apparently when used in conjunction with plastic bags.

Not that your advice isn't sound- Triazide would also be my recommendation but you know the drill with synthephobia. If people hate the idea of using man-made chemicals they should at least try the organic route if there's reasonable chance for success.

My experience with everbearing red raspberries, here in Madison, Wisconsin, has been generally good, over the past 15 years. There is a beetle that bores into some of the canes, & causes the cane to die back above that point. However, the raspberries grow so fast that it is easy enough to prune out the damaged sections and allow the other canes to fill in. Japanese beetles can be picked off by hand, and dropped into a cup of warm soapy water, aka "the soapy cup of death." Blueberries are easy enough to grow if you take the time to learn about soil pH, and how to measure it. Agricultural sulfur will lower soil pH over time, however the pH must be checked twice a season, in the spring, and in the fall, to make sure the soil is within limits. For blueberries, the pH should be between 4.3 and 5.5. Its important to test, so you know when to stop adding sulfur. To my knowledge, agricultural sulfur is an approved organic soil amendment. We have had extensive winter damage to our blueberry shrubs due to rabbits chewing on the green wood. I am currently testing Plantskydd as a repellent, and it is working at this time, but the real test will be next winter, when the rabbits are hungry, with little else to eat.

"Mykl, when you tried organic, it was before the advent of Surround, wasn't it? Isn't it possible that one could have reasonable success with this as their central insect "control" product?"

Correct about the timing.
I don't think it would be practical for Surround because we get heavy spring rains often.
We got heavy rain last night, warm sunny and humid today (good PC weather). Heavy rain again tonight. Probably would've needed sprayed first thing this morning and again tomorrow morning (the year they were landing on me it was always early in the mornings).
You'd have to be right on top of things.

I used a bread sack and bagged a whole limb tip back then (before I knew what bagging was) and that is how I got my whole 2 organic Japanese plums from 2 plum trees ($12 plums :) ). Something like that could get them bagged before the fruit was big enough to bag individually and beat the rains and winds (can't bag individually too early, the wind will snap the stems).
They would wipe out the plums in a matter of days after petal fall with multiple hits on each one, and that was while organic was working on the apples.

I think had I pulled out Imidan back then and used IPM with the traps to tell me when to spray I would've got by with few to no sprays because the ones that found me would've died (not now because I have the new neighbor who won't take care of or cut down the previous owner's fruit trees). Some years I could've been organic, some years not.

I think the better chance is fairway7's idea of "central" is different enough that they have different pressures and different weather.

ericwi,
I'm going to have to take the video camera to my friend's when the Japanese beetles are out (assuming he's not spraying) and shake one of his ornamental plums. You're not picking them off down here at their worst. A couple sprays of pyrethrum at the worst would probably cut them back, but milky spore is said to work and completely harmless.

That's a great write-up Myk. Interesting to learn of the particular problems facing your locale. Amazing how different pest pressures can be in different areas.

Here we get hammered with all the major pests, but strangely don't have to deal with Japanese beetles (at least I haven't).

I know Don was big on Milky Spore, but I always questioned that advice in my mind. All the University stuff says that Milky Spore is ineffective because the beetles are vigorous fliers.

Again I have no personal experience with them though. Here we get masses of Green June Beetles (Similar to Japanese beetles, only bigger and they only eat ripe fruit, not the foliage.)

Getting back to the original question, the berries are often not that hard to grow without any sprays. I think I sprayed my berries once in ten years. The hard stuff is the orchard you refer to. If you let us know what particular trees you have there we can give some more detailed advice. There is a high degree of variability to what problems you will have depending on your local conditions, you may have no Japanese beetle problem at all or you may be swarmed. I had a Japanese beetle problem but eliminated it with hand picking and Surround. I have also heard of many successes with milky spore. Both are organic and I would say work as well or better than any insecticide. On the other hand some problems such as plum curculio are very challenging organically and are relatively little problem with conventional sprays.

Scott

I forgot to mention that Plantskydd is approved for USDA Organic agriculture. It comes in two forms, a dry granular powder that is scattered on the ground around the plant, and a liquid formula that is sprayed onto leaves and branches. An application is supposed to last 3 or 4 months, so this product is somewhat resistant to weather, including rainfall. We have an abundant supply of hungry rabbits every winter, so our blueberry shrubs will be a good test.

Cornell has endorsed milky spore in the past. I really am not sure it has been adequately researched.

I wonder why if J. beetles are such strong fliers I'll have trees I manage just a very short distance from each other- in one case just a couple city blocks with over 50 trees in each orchard and nothing but grass in between and one group gets hammered and the other barely touched. They may be strong fliers but that doesn't mean they always fly far.

At that site I used milky spore and the following year the JB's didn't appear- maybe just coincidence but same deal at another site in same time period. Also, I used to be hit very hard at my place, spread it once, and have been 15 years without a substantial strike.

What I think the Cornell take is that it freezes when temps get too cold so it doesn't work reliably Z6 and colder. However, I'm in 6 and we've gotten below -20 since I spread the stuff. I'm sure it varies site to site depending on soil texture and other issues. I have lots of huge rocks that may store enough heat near them to keep my populations thriving- who knows? Obviously snow cover at time of extreme cold would be a big issue.

Seems to work better than peanut butter bon bons.

On the subject of rain washing off surround- I don't think coverage has to be so constant or on wet years surround would fail here. I have one man doing applications and several days will often pass after wash off before it's reapplied. Most of the sites I manage will lose most fruit most years from unprotected trees.

This year is extremely wet so I'll let you know how the trees do but PC doesn't seem to be as active when there's lots of rain.

Olpea,
The thing that amazed me most is I know people around here that grow European plums with no problem but not Japanese plums. Curculio even hits my friend's ornamentals. Finding out it's the exact opposite out east blew my mind.

I've heard the Japs are pretty local and that's why you shouldn't set out traps or you'll draw them in and get the grubs under the traps.

Scott,
I'm curious about the Surround for Japanese Beetles. We generally don't have rain at that time of year and they're the only reason I spray my grapes with insecticide.
I had a problem getting Sevin drips to wash off the grapes, how do you think the Surround would be? (I still think I'd rather be eating clay than old Sevin residue even if it doesn't come all the way off easily.)

Hman,
I'd like to be organic or even just more organic. Surround being visible may even keep the 2-legged pests from eating the apples.
I think it was Scott's posts that got me thinking it wouldn't be practical for PC here. I wouldn't say it's not worth a try but the only time I recall storms like we get when I lived in NJ was during a hurricane.
Now that I've thought of it for the kids I should try it at least on the front yard trees. It would definitely stick most summers and falls.

I'd use a push/pull strategy with PC...If I had more room. Get a plum that is bearing age and just leave it. Let the PC lay as many eggs as they want. Make sure the larvae doesn't get into the ground after the fruit falls. Lay down a barrier of some sort (plastic?). All other trees I'd put a heavy coating of Surround WP on. I'd also use pyramid traps to further reduce numbers. Fruit wouldn't be perfect, but I bet you'd have a lot less damage in Surround treated trees.

In my case I'm using a pyrethroid and spraying hopefully 2x...

In my opinion, two of the biggest factors in going organic are time and expense. If you're willing to invest both a tremendous amount of time and money, you probably could go organic. However, as Myk said, when you have high humidity and excessive spring and summer rains, along with hordes of insects, the cost per piece of fruit is prohibitive. In a small home orchard, it might be feasible; but on a larger scale of say 20 or more trees, I would find it impractical. I'm talking apples and peaches here. Pie cherries and pears are pretty carefree. I would not waste my time and effort again on sweet cherries. I'm also disappointed with nectarines as they crack horribly. Others may have a different experience. Plums have been inconsistent. If the PC can be controlled, you can have a decent crop, but you really have to be diligent.

Berries are a completely different story. I never have any issues with them--other than environmental (drought,flood,heat,ice) and, of course, weeds. I enjoy them much more than my trees. I have red, black, and yellow raspberries. Excessive rain seems to affect the reds more than the blacks. My blacks thrive, yet others seem to struggle with them. Yellows (Anne and Kiwi Gold) have proven difficult and are pretty much a novelty for me. Blackberries always produce bumper crops and are carefree.
So far, blueberries have had no disease or insect issues. In addition to ph, a soil high in organic matter and good mulch is the key to their success. Gooseberries and currants can do well--especially if you can get them in a little shade throughout the day. I also have Jostaberries and would not recommend them. They just don't produce enough to make them worth the while. I eliminated the Gojis for the same reason. Strawberries also do well with little or no care. Weed control is the key there. I really enjoy my grapes; and , so far, knock on wood, have had to avoid spraying at all. Rhubarb is another good crop to have. It can be a bit tricky sometimes to establish, but persistence will pay off--again, no pests or disease.

Right now Illinois is being plagued with Buffalo Gnats, which are making any outdoor activity miserable. Their populations are so extreme, some poultry raisers are losing birds to them. Insect repellents are ineffective against them, but some claim vanilla repels them. I think it helps, but then my honeybees fall in love with me. By the way, the gnats are tasteless as I usually ingest a few every evening. They are not much fun to snort either and love ear canals. They bite. Japanese beetles have abated somewhat and can be controlled manually most of the time. Stinkbugs were an unholy nightmare last year and are appearing already. Other than trapping them and destroying them and their eggs, I don't know what the organic solution for them will be. I don't even think there is a sound chemical solution for them. I can kill the nymphs with pyrethrins, but their numbers were so massive last year, it was futile. Physical barriers on vegetables worked until pollination time. They didn't last a week once exposed.

Just some additional observations here.

Brook

Mykl, Surround is pretty hard to get off but the JBs come early enough that it may be mostly gone by harvest time. It is edible and after several rains the amount left is not great at all so its more the cosmetic factor.

Re: stink bugs, Surround also has an effect on them, it slows them down. I have been monitoring my stink bug activity and will start up on the Surround if it gets too high. Up to now it has been about like it was last year at this time, active but not a crisis. Last year it was a mess by August so that may be where I am headed this year.

Scott

Hey here is an interesting study on some organic sprays on stink bugs. Apparently Surround increases lethality of the weak insecticide pyganic. I wished they had tested Surround alone in this study, it probably has its own lethal impact. It also stays on the trees for weeks (the time depends on the rain) so its not just a knock-down. Whatever you are spraying on stink bugs you may want to tank mix in some Surround for extra impact. I spray entrust for the moths the same time I am spraying Surround for the PC and so based on this study I am making life pretty miserable for my stink bugs this spring (Entrust alone shows 70% lethality in the below).

Scott

Here is a link that might be useful: study

Hman,

The site specificity of the JB damage you mention wouldn't necessitate a short flying pattern. As you know, they are strongly attracted by one another's pheromones.

Particularly the example of a separation by only 2 city blocks would suggest to me pheromones are the over-riding factor, as the beetles surely wouldn't be inhibited by 2 blocks.

According to Missouri, JB can fly 5 mi., but 1-2 miles is more the norm. Missouri State JB Presentation.

I wonder if the correlation between Milky Spore and a reduction in fruit tree damage is more spurious/coincidental than an actual causative relationship. That is, the pheromones drew the beetles in for a few years, and for whatever reason quit (i.e. they found a better food source) but the success was attributed to Milky Spore.

MSU ran an article about controlling JB damage and mentioned controlling JB in the grub stage (MSU Article "Our experience in Michigan blueberry fields has been that application of Admire (16 oz/acre) to grassy field perimeters in late June/early July reduced the abundance of beetles on bushes for the first few weeks of their flight period in the next growing season. After that, beetles flying into the area from outside swamped out this effect, so there is only a short-lived benefit from targeting the grubs in fields surrounded by infested grassy areas."

Like I said I don't have any experience with JB, but it doesn't make sense they won't fly in. To me, it would be like trying to control plum curc by making sure no grubs pupate in the orchard area.

Olpea, my impression is the vast majority of the beetles do not fly far at all. They can fly far but they usually don't, since they pupated by a good food source by definition (there was enough food for a female to lay eggs). Back when I had a big population I would find JB grubs in the soil when digging a fruit tree hole about half the time. I mainly eliminated them by squishing them at night with a flashlight. After about two years of this I had very few beetles, only the dozen or so that would fly in each year. I used Surround with success for some periods as well. If they were flying all over I would get more than a couple dozen every year. They are still all around my neighborhood, just not in my yard anymore. In that MSU study it sounds like there was a large population directly incident on the field. A couple beetles came right over, found food and called over their buddies.

Milky spore has been proven effective around here, I think the evidence is about as strong as for any widely recognized pest treatment. It may not work as well in other climates however.

Scott

Researchers will always tend to exaggerate the significance of their own study just as we all tend to exaggerate the significance of pretty much everything we do.

I exaggerate the significance of my own anecdotal observations, of course, but when you're a scientist this exaggeration is a real problem if only because people believe you more. One study "proves" (suggests) one thing and another proves the opposite. Eventually with multiple studies we sometimes get an understanding of what's really going on.

That insects behave one way at one site one year or even several years is only an indication.

Of course, I realize you understand all this quite well, Olpea. My theory- if you have JB beetle grubs in your soil, you pretty much know you're going to have them in your trees, if you don't, you might get lucky.

Thank you all for your answers and suggestions. After reading the posts, I think I will get some Surround and Milky Spore and keep my fingers crossed!
It sure is an adventure to try to grow organic food. Not sure how it will go...but we will give it a try.
I appreciate everyone that took the time to give their imput.
Thank you!

I would also get some zipper sandwich bags. That's one organic method that beats everything around here.
Most everything should be big enough to bag by now.

But don't bag stonefruit!

Bag stonefruit in footies. Below is a link to the ones that I'm going to try this year. Last year I only had maybe 5 fruit to bag so I just cut up an old pair of nylons.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fruit soxs

Bagging Japanese plums is the only way I got them.
Maybe it's just the fuzzy stone fruit with the bagging issues.

OK, I was just quoting what I thought I heard here. I personally don't use bags. Thanks for the info, mykl.

I do think someone had their plums rot in bags harvestman. It could depend on the brown rot pressure. I once tried plastic bags on grapes and they all rotted so I am wary of that approach. The cotton parts bags or the Surround-soaked footies or the organza bags are options which don't suffer from the rot problems. I have heard varying degrees of success against moths with those approaches; I used the cotton parts bags for several years on peaches and plums and they worked fine for me.

Scott

I tried the footies on my plums last year, and they seem to attract earwigs, which ruin the fruit - although they don't seem to bother the apples, later in the year. I haven't tried the ones with Surround, tho.

JBs seem to prefer the leaves of plums to the fruit. This winter, we had -20 F temperatures for the first time in quite a while. I'm hoping this reduced the survival of the JB grubs.