When to remove cages

gunfun13

5 year old buck +
I've got many crabapples going into their 4th growing season in 5' tall x 4' diameter cages. Trees are mostly 8-10' tall now and I've pruned so that the lowest scaffolds are 4.5-5' up. At this point, would I be safe to remove the large cage and replace with a smaller say 4' tall x 1' diameter one...basically just to prevent rubbing? I'm expecting decent crops next year and would like them to be available to the deer, I suspect 75% would fall within cages with current set up. Plus it would be nice to recycle the large cages to this years plantings.
 
I had trees in this situation last year and removed cages and hung a 24" enclosed ductwork tube that was about 3 to 4"wider that the trees at about the 2 to 5' height. The trees dropped their bounty and the deer never rubbed them. Coons didn't climb them either. I had 5 that had a smaller cage around them, about 5' in height. no deer rubbed them but the coons climbed them and broke several branches on them getting to the fruit laden branches. I even have a trail cam sequence where there are three coons on a good sized branch and in the next frame the branch is down and the coons are in it yet.

I plan to tube another dozen or so this spring.
 
I do that on even my tubed oaks,when they get close to filling tube I cut them off and put a small cage on for a couple years
 
I like your thinking Willy, buckdeer.
 
I had trees in this situation last year and removed cages and hung a 24" enclosed ductwork tube that was about 3 to 4"wider that the trees at about the 2 to 5' height. The trees dropped their bounty and the deer never rubbed them. Coons didn't climb them either. I had 5 that had a smaller cage around them, about 5' in height. no deer rubbed them but the coons climbed them and broke several branches on them getting to the fruit laden branches. I even have a trail cam sequence where there are three coons on a good sized branch and in the next frame the branch is down and the coons are in it yet.

I plan to tube another dozen or so this spring.
I love this idea...anybody got a picture of this setup and some instruction on how to hang the tube?
 
I may catch some flack for saying this as it goes against what a lot of people would ever recommend, but because we buy our apple trees in bulk, we use 10" diameter cages supported by a single post from the get-go. We've been doing this for many years, oftentimes with 6" diameter cages in a pinch. The deer bite off some of the leaders when they emerge from the top of the enclosures if we don't get around to moving the enclosures upwards on the posts in time or adding an extra foot or two of chicken wire around the central leader before the snow gets deep here. We look at growing apple trees from a dollar to protect to a dollar to replace perspective. Not sure if that helps. That's just the way we do things. Hopefully this gives you some assurance that there is no single right way to worry about.
 
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I may catch some flack for saying this as it goes against what a lot of people would ever recommend, but because we buy our apple trees in bulk, we use 10" diameter cages supported by a single post from the get-go. We've been doing this for over half a century, oftentimes with 6" diameter cages in a pinch. The deer bite off some of the leaders when they emerge from the top of the enclosures if we don't get around to moving the enclosures upwards on the posts in time or adding an extra foot or two of chicken wire around the central leader before the snow gets deep here. We look at growing apple trees for deer from a dollar to protect to a dollar to replace perspective. Not sure if that helps. That's just the way we do things. Hopefully this gives you some assurance that there is no single right way to worry about.
Over 50 yrs of planting fruit trees? Do you have any pics of your orchards, or of your small diameter cages?
 
I had trees in this situation last year and removed cages and hung a 24" enclosed ductwork tube that was about 3 to 4"wider that the trees at about the 2 to 5' height. The trees dropped their bounty and the deer never rubbed them. Coons didn't climb them either. I had 5 that had a smaller cage around them, about 5' in height. no deer rubbed them but the coons climbed them and broke several branches on them getting to the fruit laden branches. I even have a trail cam sequence where there are three coons on a good sized branch and in the next frame the branch is down and the coons are in it yet.

I plan to tube another dozen or so this spring.
That’s interesting. Would like to see pictures as well. I have some 4th leaf trees I have been considering robbing the cages from. I saw a video of century farms nursery on YouTube and he uses black corrugated pipe. I been trying to think of something different I could use. I bought some 4” slit tubes. But they would only be good for another yr or 2 on some of these trees
 
That’s interesting. Would like to see pictures as well. I have some 4th leaf trees I have been considering robbing the cages from. I saw a video of century farms nursery on YouTube and he uses black corrugated pipe. I been trying to think of something different I could use. I bought some 4” slit tubes. But they would only be good for another yr or 2 on some of these trees
Jordan,
AM Leo sells a tool for installing pipes around trees. I have no experience with it, just noticed it on their catalog the other day.
https://www.amleo.com/leonard-corrugated-tree-guard-zipper/p/TPZ/
 
This idea of the pipe is not mine, I got it from another habitat guy on either this forum or another one similar to it.

I use a piece of garden hose and run electric fenceing wire through it and punch two holes opposite of each other on the pipe before I connect the ends and then hang the hose from a tree crotch with the wire connected to the pipes and it just hangs in place. I thought the shiney pipe might keep deer from using the area but it didn't. Maybe the first few days it was up but its business as usual now.

willy is this more of less what you use? Do they make one that is slit? Or do you have to cut them in order to get around older trees?
Jordan, that is what I use. I thought about buying the 5's but don't have any special cutting tool besides a tin snips and i figured that was a recipe for some fine cuts on my hands. I get mine at Menards and buy in the quantity to get slight discount and the 11 percent.

I love this idea...anybody got a picture of this setup and some instruction on how to hang the tube?

Lot2learn, I'm at the farm today and my goal is to take pics but we are making sausage today so it may be tomorrow.
 
That’s interesting. Would like to see pictures as well. I have some 4th leaf trees I have been considering robbing the cages from. I saw a video of century farms nursery on YouTube and he uses black corrugated pipe. I been trying to think of something different I could use. I bought some 4” slit tubes. But they would only be good for another yr or 2 on some of these trees
Jordan,
AM Leo sells a tool for installing pipes around trees. I have no experience with it, just noticed it on their catalog the other day.
https://www.amleo.com/leonard-corrugated-tree-guard-zipper/p/TPZ/
That's pretty slick. Bet a guy could make one with scrap wood that works without too much effort.

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I may catch some flack for saying this as it goes against what a lot of people would ever recommend, but because we buy our apple trees in bulk, we use 10" diameter cages supported by a single post from the get-go. We've been doing this for over half a century, oftentimes with 6" diameter cages in a pinch. The deer bite off some of the leaders when they emerge from the top of the enclosures if we don't get around to moving the enclosures upwards on the posts in time or adding an extra foot or two of chicken wire around the central leader before the snow gets deep here. We look at growing apple trees for deer from a dollar to protect to a dollar to replace perspective. Not sure if that helps. That's just the way we do things. Hopefully this gives you some assurance that there is no single right way to worry about.
Poorsand. What kind of wire cages and how high do you use for the 10inch dia cages?
 
Catscratch & Jordan: Attached is a photo I took on January 3rd last month that provides some idea of the way we do it.

We just don't have time to do everything just right like a lot of people on this forum do or aspire to do. (God bless them. We just can't do it all like that. I wish we could.) We just keep on plunking trees into the ground and hope for the best. Our adult children help us and they will be inheriting our lands. We plant a couple hundred trees in our coarse soil in the morning and then go at it again the next day.

In the background of the photo, you'll see 2"X4" grid welded wire. Also in the photo, you may notice that the tree cages are supported by pieces of conduit. We got those for free from a construction site. In past years, we have also used any old fence wire we could repurpose and anything from black locust sticks to fallen pieces of TV antenna aluminum rods to hold up the apple tree cages. We train our trees to be whips initially and put sticks in through the sides of the cages to keep the leaders centered if they get too close to the edge.

I wouldn't recommend our system for guys planting just a few trees that they cherish. We are reforesting here.
 

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Catscratch & Jordan: Attached is a photo I took on January 3rd last month that provides some idea of the way we do it.

We have farms. We operate on farmer scale. That doesn't mean that we are experts, we just don't have time to do everything just right like a lot of people on this forum do or aspire to do. (God bless them. We just can't do it all like that. I wish we could.) We just keep on plunking trees into the ground and hope for the best. Our adult children help us and they will be inheriting our lands. We plant a couple hundred trees in our coarse soil in the morning and then go at it again the next day.

In the background of the photo, you'll see 2"X4" grid welded wire, which we bought this year for expediency. Also in the photo, you may notice that the tree cages are supported by pieces of conduit. We got those for free from a construction site. In past years, we have used any old fence wire we could repurpose and anything from black locust sticks to fallen pieces of TV antenna aluminum rods to hold up the apple tree cages. We train our trees to be whips initially and put sticks in through the sides of the cages to keep the leaders centered if they get too close to the edge.

I wouldn't recommend our system for guys planting just a few trees that they cherish. We are reforesting here.
Awesome! Thanks for the info and quick reply. How tall are your cages?
I've got a couple of small diameter cages but the holes are big enough the deer can get their snout in to pick at things. Had been considering small cages with 2x4 holes and you just gave me inspiration to make it happen.

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Catscratch: With respect to tree cage height, that has pretty much depended on what we could scrounge up or find on sale over the years. Last year, we used some 5' high wire grid on some trees and 6' high wire on others. It has been whatever we can do for cheap. As I think I said, we buy in bulk orders. Last year, it cost us less than $2 per tree each to protect them. We don't have much in the way of rabbits or voles around here. Back in the day, a person could buy land around here by just paying the back taxes. We invest in reafforestation proportionally to that.
 
Great results PoorSand. Your pictured apple tree is just beautiful.
 
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