DIY Apple Fruit Picker Pole Bottom Cap

In this series of the Apple Fruit Picker articles, much has been discussed on the the Apple Fruit Picker tool - and for good reason. When harvesting fruits, the apple fruit picking tool functions mainly to grasp, catch and recover the fruit into the fruit basket. The apple fruit picking tool is mounted on the top end of the fruit picker pole.

Thus far, nothing has been discussed on the bottom end of the pole.

How to Improvise a Wing Nut Using Epoxy and Aluminum Tube

A wingnut or wing nut is a type of nut with two large metal "wings", one on each side, so it can be easily tightened and loosened by hand without tools. In my area, wing nuts are not a common hardware material. They're not common in the sense that they're not used in the mainstream "permanent" projects. Wing nuts, by virtue of their handy usage and easy removal, are typically used in temporary setups.

Wing nuts, in the context of this article refer to having the body of a small-sized nut made bigger so that it can be affixed or removed easily and without special tools.

Rangoon Creeper (Quisqualis indica) Growing in an Arch or Arbor - Part 3

In part 2 of this article, I discussed the initial growth stages of the Rangoon Creeper vine, including its first flowering. Realizing the potential for this vine to become robust and aggressive, I thought pruning to create a more compact look for the trunk of the vine to make it look tidier and looking less overpowering than the rest of the nearby plants.

In this part, I'll discuss other ways to thin out the trunk portion of the Rangoon Creeper so it becomes less invasive. As mentioned repeatedly, the Rangoon Creeper, given the right amount of sunlight and watering, will grow quickly. The vine on your arch, arbor or pergola will look like a tangled mess without the proper control of the branches.

Rangoon Creeper (Quisqualis indica) Growing in an Arch or Arbor - Part 2

In part 1 of this article, I discussed the location where the Rangoon Creeper or Chinese Honeysuckle was planted. There is full day sunlight in this location and so I expect the vine to grow quickly and yield beautiful flowers.

Because the vine has twining young shoots, I tied a piece of insulated solid strand wire from the front fence near where its planted up to the top of the garden gate arch. The wire will be used to train the Rangoon Creeper's vine and reach the garden gate arch.

Rangoon Creeper (Quisqualis indica) Growing in an Arch or Arbor

The Rangoon Creeper is an extremely spectacular vine that blooms throughout the year in tropical heat. When in full bloom, it is covered with large trusses of tri-colored flowers that are very showy and pleasantly scented.

DIY Fruit Harvester Picker - Four Prongs

Here's a fun, easy to do DIY project that is an improvement over my previous homemade apple fruit picker tool. I call this the four-pronged fruit harvester picker. That's because instead of the usual two, this fruit picker has four prongs that are almost aligned with each other.

The four prongs of the fruit picker significantly increases the chances to catch fruit. It essentially doubles the area of the "catching area". This is especially useful when the fruits are on the higher branches and the prongs may be difficult to see behind all the upper foliage. At that height, it becomes a hit-or-miss proposition when attempting to pick fruits with a picker that only has two prongs.