We continue to scythe around the apple trees, weed them and and paint the trunks to protect them from borers. I’ve been using Neem Oil on the trunks for several years with what seem to be good results. There has been little to no borer damage at all. But Neem turns the bark a dark, almost black, color, and I have noticed some bark damage. Could that be due to the Neem? I don’t know. But I decided it was time to experiment. So this year I’m painting different rows with one of three concoctions - a fresh manure/clay slurry mix, a manure/clay/Neem mix, and straight Neem.

I like the clay/manure option because both ingredients are available locally so I’m hoping that will provide good protection against the borers. Plus, a mix of clay and manure is said to have health-promoting and even bark-healing properties. I’ll be especially interested to see how the bark damaged trees do after being painted with manure and clay.