City Fruit is on a mission. To Save Seattle’s Apples. And we want YOU to be part of it!
Seattle’s fruit trees are a living legacy of the rich history of our city. However, we have seen increasing evidence of pest damages that threaten the health of our fruit trees and the quality of the fruit in recent years. Without proactive prevention, most apples and pears grown in Seattle are likely to be affected by pests and end up being not consumable, which means less fruit for us to enjoy and share.
It’s time to take action, Seattle. Let’s Save Seattle’s Apples!
Save Seattle’s Apples is City Fruit’s annual campaign to improve the health and productivity of our city’s fruit trees, namely apples. We encourage using physical barriers such as tree nets (yes, hairnets for the trees!), baggies or footies, to protect the fruit from insects rather than spraying chemicals.
So what can YOU do to help Save Seattle’s Apples? A lot!
- Volunteer – help net the trees in the public orchards at two upcoming volunteer orchard parties: Meridian Playground on May 18 and Dr. Jose Rizal Park on June 1 (see more details below).
- Net your trees – visit our web site for tree netting resources including a list of local and online vendors and Tree Netting Calculation Guide.
- Bag your fruit – FREE baggies are available at select local garden centers starting in early May. A list of locations and instructions on how to install them are available at City Fruit web site.
Best time to net your tree or place baggies is when the fruitlets are about the size of a dime and before the first generation of the pests emerge, between early May and mid-June . Visit the Save Seattle’s Apples page to find out where you can find tree netting and pest prevention baggies near you.
Let’s Save Seattle’s Apples!