It’s early July, and that’s Codling Moth time in the orchards. If left unchecked, CM (Cydia pomonella) can be quite destructive to apples, rendering them unfit for anything but the cider press. (Is that a bad thing?) Even though we love to press apples into cider, we also love to cook them, eat them fresh and sell them. So we’re forever exploring ways to minimize CM impact on the fruit.

We got up early and sprayed all the orchards with Dipel (Bacillus thuringiensis, subspecies kurstaki) combined with liquid fish, liquid kelp, effective microbes and a chilling array of fermented herb teas, including comfrey, nettles and others (you name it.) The trees seem to enjoy the refreshing, reinvigorating shower despite the intense “fragrance.” If for no other reason, I think the Codling Moths are going to be so baffled by the smell, they’ll leave in dismay. I hope.