How to net fruit trees to protect your produce | Gardening 101 | Gardening Australia

Hannah shows how she safely and effectively nets her fruit trees to protect the produce from hungry wildlife. Subscribe 🔔 http://ab.co/GA-subscribe It’s important to welcome wildlife into our gardens and we can play a key role in creating habitats for all sorts of animals in an urban environment. Sharing some of your fruit and vegie crops encourages them into your garden for you to enjoy. Hannah’s garden is full of different fruit and nut trees and most years allows for 20% to be eaten by wildlife. But her recent crops were almost completely decimated by birds. So, this year she’s netting a few trees so there’s something to left for her family to eat too! Hannah’s simple netting frame: Materials: Wildlife safe netting - white, with holes no larger than what your pinky finger can fit through. 4 star pickets Poly pipe High tensile wire Strong tape Steps: Hammer each picket into the ground evenly around the tree Measure out the length of poly pipe by using a long piece of high tensile wire between two opposite pickets. It’s important to have the right length of poly pipe to clear the tree, so the netting doesn’t sit right up against it. Cut two lengths of poly pipe to size Place each end on a picket so the two pieces are crossing diagonally. Secure with some tape where they meet at the top. Add your net over the top and secure it firmly at the base. The net will also provide some frost protection over winter, or you can simply throw a sheet or frost protection material over the top of the frame. Other tips for protecting fruit: For large trees, bag individual fruit with wildlife-safe netted bags. Try some strategic pruning in summer after harvesting. This will help keep the tree nice and compact, prevent excessive growth, and make it easier to net. This is different to winter pruning, which encourages growth. For less tree mass to manage, choose a dwarf or semi-dwarf cultivar. ___________________________________________ Gardening Australia is an ABC TV program providing gardening know-how and inspiration. Presented by Australia's leading horticultural experts, Gardening Australia is a valuable resource to all gardeners through the television program, the magazine, books, DVDs and extensive online content. Watch more: http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/gard... Facebook:   / gardeningaustralia   Instagram:   / gardeningaustralia   Web: http://www.abc.net.au/gardening ___________________________________________ This is an official Australian Broadcasting Corporation YouTube channel. Contributions may be removed if they violate ABC's Online Conditions of Use http://www.abc.net.au/conditions.htm (Section 3).