Those are some good ideas MileHighGirl. In particular, putting the bait under the cage makes a lot of sense, as the animal will need to work to get at it, increasing the chances of tripping the trap. It's also important to secure the trap (a rock on each side), as I've seen the trap moved to get at bait which fell through. Fred, my area is a bit too urban for guns. Besides, I'm a bad enough shot I would probably hurt my trees, house or neighbors more than the target. When I was a kid, around 8 years old, I was growing corn (rather poorly) in my parent's garden. A neighborhood kid (who I was not friendly with) helped himself and I chased him down, almost getting him with a rock. I missed him, but got his father's car windshield...Hmm...Maybe that's not a great story to drive home the point "look what can happen when you don't hit what you aim at." I finally managed to catch the ground hog. Wrapping the cage in the small tarp seems to have made the difference. Though I also used a larger chunk of apple core to make it tougher for small animals to carry away (per Cindy's suggestion), which probably helped. I may not need the cantaloupe I just bought- I got home with it to find the groundhog caught. **Knocks on wood that there aren't any more ground hogs around**

Years ago I loved it but now it's bland for my current tastes. Its texture keeps well but it looses its zing after a couple of months and you need to pick it a tad green for storage. Holds its texture very well when cooked and makes outstanding apple pie, especially when mixed with something more acid. The apples are just too damn big and here it tends towards bienniel bearing if not carefully managed. It's a very popular apple at stands around here in southern NY and should do fine in Z5.

You will almost certainly have to spray for a lot more than CAR to get sound fruit in Tennessee. There are a rather formidable complex of fruit destroying pests in that particular neck of the woods. Here's what I have to do in NY to get useable fruit. Alan Haigh- The Home Orchard and Nursery Co. alandhaigh@gmail.com REPRINT PERMISSION FROM ALAN HAIGH REQUIRED ________________________________________ Low Spray Schedule for Home Orchards in the Northeast Here's my spray schedule for the scores of orchards I manage around SE NY adapted for home owners managing a few fruit trees. It has functioned well for me for over 2 decades, although J. Beetles and brown rot of stone fruit increases the number of sprays and necessary pesticides some years some sites. Stink bugs are also an increasing problem requiring more subsequent sprays when they appear. Time of spray is based on apple bloom as that is the predominant fruit here but I generally get away with spraying all trees at the time I spray apples. Please note that pesticide labels must be read before their use and my recommendations do not override the rules on the label. The label is the law. This document only communicates what has worked for me and your results may vary depending on local pest pressure, which may require a different spray schedule. Dormant oil (this is optional if there were no mites or scale issues the previous season, which is usually the case in home orchards). Do oil spray somewhere between the point where emerging shoots are 1/2" and the flower clusters begin to show a lot of pink. Mix Immunox (myclobutinol) at highest legal rate (listed on label for controlling scab and cedar apple rust on apple trees) with 1 to 2% oil. If it's closer to pink use 1%. Don't spray again until petal fall when petals have mostly gone from latest flowering varieties and bees have lost interest. Then spray Triazide (Spectracide Once and Done) + Immunox mixed together at highest legal rates. Repeat once in 10 to 14 days. Where I manage orchards, the space between earliest flowering Japanese plums and latest flowering apples is only 2 weeks or so which usually allows me to wait until the latest flowering trees are ready to begin spraying anything. Plum curculio seems to time its appearance conveniently to the rhythm of the last flowering apple varieties. This may not be true where you are. If plums or peaches need oil they may need application before apples. I’ve only had mites on European plums here and never need oil for other stone fruit. All this is based on plum curculio being your primary insect problem which is the case most areas east of the Mis. River. These sprays will also absolutely control scab, CAR and Mildew as well as most of the crop fatal insects. Apple fly maggot is an exception as it tends to merge a couple of weeks after last spray looses affectiveness, but I haven't had much of a problem with this pest in the orchards I manage. This pest can be controlled with a lot of fake apples smeared with tangle trap. If you don't want to use synthetic chemicals try 4 applications of Surround about a week apart starting at petal fall. You may need to start on earlier flowering varieties as soon as they drop petals because Surround is a repellent and can’t kill eggs after they’ve been inserted into the fruit.. Stone fruit may require the addition of an application or 2 of Indar (Monterey Fungus Fighter is closest available chemical for home growers) starting 4 weeks before first peaches ripen. Apricots must be sprayed sooner if they are scab susceptible with same compound. Some sites that single spray will also prevent serious rot on later ripening varieties on seasons not particularly wet. Because I manage so many orchards so far apart I have to resort to a spray schedule that is based on expectations rather than actual monitoring. You may be able to reduce insecticide sprays with monitoring but PC can enter an orchard over night and if your insecticide lacks kick-back (as is the case with Triazide), do a lot of damage in a couple of days.. Other problems may occur later in the season and you will in time learn to monitor and react to the pitfalls.

I live in the north shore of Massachusetts. I installed a Cercis Canadensis - Rising Sun Redbud last October - a 5 gallon container tree in a full sun area of my front yard - where there is decent drainage. Made it through the winter with no problems, and the tight lavender buds popped in April . The bark and branching is a light grey and it all appears to be healthy - all branches are still pliable. The tiny lime colored leaves that appeared after budding have now morphed into larger, darker leaves. Watering has been a consistent once / wk process, but we did have some pretty intense rainfall about a month ago. I began noticing slight drooping and wilting of the leaves right before the heavy rains we received. Since then, it has been dry and warm, and the leaves have gotten more wilted and curled. At the recommendation of one of our nursery managers, I tried soaking the root area. There has been no improvement, and the smaller leaves are now drying up. No spotting on the leaves or signs of leaf decay, and no insect issues.. If it weren't for the drooping and wilting of leaves, they'd look completely healthy. In other words, the color and structure of the leaves are fine. The Rising Sun Redbud is a relatively new cultivar, so not much to go on re. diseases, insect issues and tree care solutions... My first inclination was that the tree might be suffering from root rot or a root fungus - based on the wilting and curling of leaves. I checked the soil around the root ball, which is cool and moist, but not wet, and there is none of the distinct smell you commonly get with root rot... When soaking the root area, the water pooled then drained fairly quickly. If anyone has any information on the Rising Sun, this particular issue, and a possible solution please pass along.. Many thanks!