If you've ever been out to our orchard and upick farm, you've no doubt noticed little soap bars hanging on the smaller trees. The smaller, younger trees are the ones deer love to chew at and rub antlers on! The little soap bars deter deer simply because of the scent. Deer do not like the smell of soap and therefore steer clear of the little trees.

• What is the hail cannon?

Purchased to protect our apples from hail damage, a Hail cannon is a shock wave generator used to disrupt the formation of hailstones in the atmosphere in their growing phase. An explosive charge of acetylene gas and air is fired in the lower chamber of the machine. As the resulting energy passes through the neck and into the cone it develops into a force that becomes a shockwave. This shockwave, clearly audible as a large whistling sound, then travels at the speed of sound through the cloud formations above, disrupting the growth phase of the hailstones. The device is fired every 4 seconds over the period when the storm is approaching and until it has passed. What would have fallen as hail instead comes down as slush. It is critical that the machine is started as the storm approaches as there is nothing that can be done with an already developed and solidified hailstone. We have one hail cannon at our farm which is said to cover approximately 100 acres.

• 
  We love trying to help our customers better understand what we do and assist them with their own gardening questions. So, go ahead, email us a "stumper" we'll see if we can answer it.
  
  apples@garwoodorchard.com