kniles:

I'm not a bagger, but the people on this site who do mostly use ziploc plastic bags with the corners clipped to drain water. Do a search on bagging fruit and you will find plenty of info. Those that do it say it works.

I have used nylon footies. Not sure that's spelled right. But they are small nylon socks used by shoe stores. Item 64-106 Store Supply Warehouse 1-800-823-8887. They worked OK but I didn't have many pests. They were very easy to put on the fruit using ordinary staples and a small hand stapler. You could probably staple your bags on the fruit. But if they aren't as advertized I'd send them back. Plastic bags would be much cheaper than what you have. The footies were much cheaper as well.

The Fruitnut

Kniles:

This is a question you should ask Fedco. Call them up. Japanese apple bags I have seen have an imbedded wire (a too short embedded wire), but perhaps Fedco is selling a version that leaves the tying to the client. My personal view is that the Japanese bags are more trouble than they are worth. I use ordinary ziploc sandwich bags, which are cheaper and easier to install.

For Fruitnut:

I fumbled around for hours trying to install footies on peaches with a mini-stapler, a method that left a great deal to be desired. Lousy installation, knocked off a lot of little peaches I would have saved.

Then Scottsmith mentioned he was simply tying his footies over the branch. Why this never occurred to me as I was cursing the stapler, I cannot say, but this tying method is clearly the way to go. Footies are so stretchy and flexible that it is easy to tie them over a small or larger twig. The footie closes tightly to keep out any insect. One thing you do have to watch: When the peaches are ripe, the footie will keep them from falling, so you have to keep an eye on them as they approach fully ripe status.

This tying method is now universally known as the "Scottsmith footie tying method", but Scott was tying a full granny or square knot above. I discovered that the footie, due to its inherent friction, will stay on firmly with only a single tie, making it easier to remove when that time arrives.

Having thus proven that I am not as dumb as I thought, I call this the "Jellyman modified Scottsmith footie tying method". What an advance in the field of fruit science.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Hello Baggers,
Any chance of someone posting some up close pics of a properly installed ziplock or footie? I am a visual person and I bet so are a lot of the others in the group and it would be great to see a properly installed bag.

Thanks,
Scaper

I've seen a similar request for pictures from the Home Orchard Society web site.

Jellyman has given some really vivid descriptions. I can picture it in my mind :)

Scaper:

Take a ziplock sandwich bag, install it on an apple, photograph it and post it here. I will tell you if it looks good. It probably will.

Do the same with a peach and a footie.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

kniles, I think the wire actually is in there. It's just thinner, shorter and less useful than you would imagine.

Thanks JellyMan,
I will get some pics up this weekend. I really appreciate the help. I have a tendency to over think things and it is great to get an experts opinion.

Scaper

tcstoehr-

Any idea where on the bag the wire should be?

Kniles:

I think tcstoehr is right that you just have not found the wires yet, so I got out an old Japanese bag from the furnace room and am looking at it right now.

When you are looking at the front of the bag, the wire is imbedded along the top part of the left edge. It runs vertically along the left edge, not across the top, it is completely hidden from view within the paper, and it is exactly 1 5/8 inches (4 cm.) long. You either have to look very closely, or feel the bag to find it.

I don't like the design of these bags, partly because it seems to me the wire should run across the top, not on the side. And, of course, the wire is too short to be of much use. Nevertheless, it is possible to put them on if you have an apple with a nice, long stem. When I put them on, several of them fell right off, and more came off when there was a little wind.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Don & tcstoehr:

Thanks. Found the "wire".

I guess I'll try a few since I spent the $5-$10 on them, but it seems like it would be extremely time consuming to bag a significant amount.

I can see why the ziplocks and footies are so popular. I'm going to do some with those as well.

Thanks again.