Pallets for cages?

pointer

5 year old buck +
I have a source for free pallets. I'm planning on planting some fruit trees on my place this spring and am considering using the pallets for cages/protection. Any reason to not use them over wire cages?

Thanks in advance.
 
I am assuming you would use 3-4 of them and box the tree in? Airflow would be my only concern.
 
I've seen pics of it done before. They were on a habitat website a yr or two ago. If I remember right he used 3 to make a triangle around the tree. The only things I can think of that would be prohibitive is that they are heavy and bulky to work with, and not very tall. They would probably prevent rubbing on trunks but maybe not browsing? I don't know though, try it and let us know how it works.
 
Yep, build either a triangle or box around the tree. I think I could mitigate airflow a bit by removing a few of the slats if need be. Not sure how tall they are, so that could be an issue to prevent browsing, unless I made the bigger in area.
 
I don't see why it wouldn't work. The browsing by the deer can also promote vertical growth as well.....as long as the deer can't reach the leader or strip the tree clean. Use bailing wire or the like to fasten them together.
 
Those pallet slats will be perfect places for mice and voles to build their home, well-protected from hawks and owls, plus they can chew on the tree trunks if they run out of other food.

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I have several enclosures made of 4 pallets placed in a square and held together with some wire. They work great but are a bit cumbersome to move. I have not used them on apple trees, only on elderberry, but I'm sure they would work fine for apples to prevent browse and rubbing. Yes, it's a little harder than with a wire cage to get inside it. And I've been stung once or twice by hornets who had built a nest inside the pallets. But that's not any different than using tree tubes!
The pallet cages I made for my elderberry were installed 5 years ago and are still holding up very nicely. Hard to argue with the price.....
 
Not a fan of the idea.

I favor concrete mesh, mainly because once it rusts it is almost invisible. I don't want my land to look like a landfill.
 
I have seen old photographs from the 1800's that had 4 sided wood plank fencing around trees. I was told by my grandfather it was used to protect the tree from horses and other livestock.
 
Not a fan of the idea.

I favor concrete mesh, mainly because once it rusts it is almost invisible. I don't want my land to look like a landfill.

And there is that sunlight factor, ability for wind to stiffen the tree trunk, ...
 
Definitely not suggesting it's ideal but I think it has its place. It works great for growing shrubs that need more space than can easily be accommodated by a 2' diameter cage in areas with high browse pressure. I generally wouldn't recommend it for apple trees but would say that protection from a makeshift wooden/pallet cage is FAR better than no protection at all.

I would completely agree that this approach isn't perfect, but the question was never "is this a perfect approach?"

Many people say that tree tubes are a bad way of growing fruit trees but I have successfully done it for about 100 apple trees and so I'm less interested in "is this ideal" than I am in "can this work?" And clearly pallets can work to mitigate browse pressure and eliminate injury from buck rubs.

So if they're free and you don't have welded wire laying around, i wouldn't hesitate to use them.
 
It works great for growing shrubs that need more space than can easily be accommodated by a 2' diameter cage in areas with high browse pressure.

That’s a really good point...


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Not a fan of the idea.

I favor concrete mesh, mainly because once it rusts it is almost invisible. I don't want my land to look like a landfill.

I agree with ED. They are too hard to move to get in to do things that need to be done periodically. Mesh Wire or wrap around the trunk to protect it, prune or pick weeds not killed by spray, Spraying. Plus if they fall in on the tree they are going to do a lot of damage, a lot of damage.


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