We are sad to report that some of our trees have suffered at the teeth of a destructive rodent known as the meadow vole. Whether the reason is because we decided to leave the grasses and other vole-loving plants under our apple trees or it's because of this year's extremely long, snow-covered winter; we just don't know. What we do know is that we need to take some quick action to prevent any more damage.
As we began our late-winter pruning, we were absolutely crushed to discover that meadow voles have been stripping the bark off some of our trees.
When the bark has been removed from the entire girth of the tree it's known to be "girdled". This poor young Topaz will most likely not recover from the destruction.
Some pretty easy detective work led us to uncover where the meadow voles are inhabiting.
The trail-work of the meadow voles.
We made a healing poultice of clay, aloe vera gel, and mineral rich carbonatite to apply directly to the wounds of the trees.
With orchard map and healing poultice in hand, we begin.
Applying the poultice of clay, healing aloe vera gel, and mineral-rich carbonatite.
Now that we have taken care of the wounds, we will begin the next step: gathering scion wood for bridge grafting - a technique to deliver energy and nutrition to the damaged trees by attaching first-year wood. Stay tuned and cross your fingers!