We all know how tricky it is to grow fruit that is purely organic because so many garden pests love the sweet, luscious taste of the fruit crop as much as we do.  Plus, fruit trees can also be victims of sunburn and all the problems it causes.  I discovered a product that seems to nip this in the bud.

While visiting the Chicago Botanic Gardens last week, we were walking around their fruit orchard and discovered they were using a new organic spray.  Being naturally curious, I decided to find out what they were using, it is called Kaolin Crop Spray.

Kaolin is sold in a 50 lb bag for larger farms and gardens. (I did send an inquiry to see if the Kaolin Crop Spray comes in a smaller size, but have not yet received a response from Agriculture Solutions.)  Kaolin is a wettable powder that is applied as a spray to specifically combat sunburn.  In addition to fruit trees, it can also be used on nuts, vegetables and melons as well.

The gardener I spoke with from the Botanic Gardens said, “It is working pretty well. It keeps the petals and small buds from falling off, so it seems like it is a pretty good product.”

Kaolin Crop Spray can be found online at AgricultureSolutions.com. This is not a new product; it is just new to the Chicago Botanic Gardens, me and possibly you.

Other Resources:
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