tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post6505643258374060144..comments2024-03-29T21:11:37.724+10:00Comments on down to earth: It's war!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-83737219900860273182008-12-06T04:29:00.000+10:002008-12-06T04:29:00.000+10:00Have you tried cherry tomatoes?Fruit fly aren't ov...Have you tried cherry tomatoes?<BR/>Fruit fly aren't overly fond of them and they'll keep you in tomatoes until you solve the problem.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-22720414401800548592008-12-03T18:43:00.000+10:002008-12-03T18:43:00.000+10:00Rhonda, do you remember at the time of our intervi...Rhonda, do you remember at the time of our interview last year, you had just reached 50,000 hits!!!!!!! Congratulations. I still love to read about your days.<BR/><BR/>Lisa xThe Tin Househttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03422547957232680227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-69530140901580327292008-12-03T10:14:00.000+10:002008-12-03T10:14:00.000+10:00Your dinner looks delicious!! I have never made a...Your dinner looks delicious!! I have never made a tuna loaf, but would imagine it's kind of like a salmon loaf?<BR/><BR/>Anyways, I still have fruit flies in my house. It's a never ending battle here, but I will be the first to admit that my compost jar sits on the counter too long some days. Haha :)<BR/><BR/>I also love the gratification you get by looking at meals that where most or all the ingredients came from your garden or at least in a 1 hour radius. It brings great joy to me also :)Ericahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01588446434293186676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-71219431792261149312008-12-03T07:37:00.000+10:002008-12-03T07:37:00.000+10:00For international readers: AFAIK, we've managed t...For international readers: AFAIK, we've managed to keep Queensland fruit fly to ourselves. You have nothing to fear from the vinegar flies that hover over overripe fruit or your compost heap (some say you need to add lime to the compost when you see them). Fruit fly larvae are maggots and can grow quite large. Chooks like them, or you can just squash them. Infested crops should be put in a plastic bag and left in the sun for a few days if you don't have chooks. When the maggots are dead, you can compost the remainder. I will be keen to see if the very expensive Naturalure baits are any improvement on the old Vegemite traps!Chookiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07230973711859964063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-19611145828931892952008-12-03T06:09:00.000+10:002008-12-03T06:09:00.000+10:00Hi BelovedGoddess - I remember picking up the rott...Hi BelovedGoddess - I remember picking up the rotting fruit from our apricot trees in South Australia in the seventies as well, for the same reason - Dad said it would attract fruit fly, even though SA was supposedly fruit fly free at the time.<BR/><BR/>It's a different attitude - one of forethought and caring about the world. We need to foster that attitude once again. It's a real spirit of community that existed, and I want it back. <BR/><BR/>Community really does start with as simple an act as picking up a piece of litter that someone has left behind and putting it in the bin - or picking up rotting fruit and composting it to avoid fruit fly. It really does.Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15497683565965322222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-9967940527288682252008-12-02T14:12:00.000+10:002008-12-02T14:12:00.000+10:00I can remember the fruit checks at the borders too...I can remember the fruit checks at the borders too, especially the NSW/VIC border. Dad always made sure we either didn't carry fruit or ate it before the border. He was also diligent about picking up fallen fruit from trees, saying it rotting there was like manna to the fruitflies. These days I see orchards with rotting fruit all over the place.Cheryl@Gingerbread Craftshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189189331024564663noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-76998472213342381682008-12-02T01:54:00.000+10:002008-12-02T01:54:00.000+10:00700,000? wow! kudos to you!and tuna loaf? if you...700,000? wow! kudos to you!<BR/>and tuna loaf? if you get a spare moment, could you share the recipe? I'd love to try it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-20807820159903824322008-12-01T23:59:00.000+10:002008-12-01T23:59:00.000+10:00I'm another daily reader/subscriber who loves this...I'm another daily reader/subscriber who loves this blog! As our garden is in winter rest, it's delightful to see what you are doing now.<BR/><BR/>Since you have the "chooks" as you call them in your corner of the world, maybe you could move a pen underneath them to dig out the larvae of the overwintering bugs. Clean up all fallen fruit because this increases the flies for the next year. Another benefit is that the chooks will fertilize your trees as well.<BR/><BR/>I also organic garden and enjoy cooking. You may want to read some things I do in my garden at my blog: <BR/>http://prudentclassroom.wordpress.com/<BR/><BR/><BR/>Mrs. Prudent ClassroomAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-88520543364458087452008-12-01T23:19:00.000+10:002008-12-01T23:19:00.000+10:00Your dinner looks wonderful good and tasty! I have...Your dinner looks wonderful good and tasty! I have a very small veggie garden and have never had a problem with fruit flies...so I guess I am lucky. I hope you are able to win the war, as there is nothing like eating the good foods from the garden, especially the tomatoes,which you well know. I am going to start growing my own potatoes and try my hand at corn this year. I hope I can put out a dish like yours next summer.~Lauriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01135626598525124141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-90494815519949733232008-12-01T20:51:00.000+10:002008-12-01T20:51:00.000+10:00Good luck with your battle against the fruit fly, ...Good luck with your battle against the fruit fly, Rhonda. We bought a home with some fruit trees around it, and as we've only lived here for a few short months, we probably haven't "met" all the seasonal pests yet. We have to be extra careful about planting additional fruit trees, because our religion prohibits cutting them off - once we have it, we're stuck with it!!Mrs. Anna Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15377583333000789903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-78024535180761950342008-12-01T20:44:00.000+10:002008-12-01T20:44:00.000+10:00Those fruit flies sound just horrific! I can't im...Those fruit flies sound just horrific! I can't imagine just how frustrating and demoralizing it must be to have to pull up trees and stop planting your favourites for awhile.<BR/><BR/>If you've got time during your battles, I've got a question that perhaps you can help with. I live in Britain in a rented studio that is built in a converted Victorian house. I've got radiators connected to a gas powered combi boiler-and they work great! I use lots of blankets and jumpers and carefully time when they come on to use at little heat as possible. HOWEVER-my flat is very humid. Not having a drier and living in rainy Britain, my clothes dry on the radiators. I cook lots of soups, take showers and don't generally help the condition. Its so humid that my single glazed windows condensate so much that they drip-the wall mildews and it isn't healthy or pleasant.<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, I can't change the windows, nor can I do much to reduce the humidity (I've tried all of the things I can think of with only limited improvement). Twice a day I try to wipe the windows with a sponge to get some of the excess water off-but its just not enough. Do you have any ideas? Perhaps a way to mimick double glazing? Unfortuantely, my landlords won't allow me to stick anything to the windows-so whatever I do has to be fairly invisible and easy to remove.<BR/><BR/>I am considering a dehumidifier, but I'd rather not rely on the electricity to run it!The Gossiperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05106245536111802474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-48899843964858745242008-12-01T18:16:00.000+10:002008-12-01T18:16:00.000+10:00Daharja, the flies are actually flying south! Yes...Daharja, the flies are actually flying south! Yes, people do take fruit with them as well, but they're slowly flying south as well. grrrr...<BR/><BR/>Rhonda, do you have Farmers Markets near you? Even if you have to buy tomatoes at least Farmers Markets will have reasonable ones!<BR/><BR/>Could you plant more tomatoes now and bag them?Melindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17329997752606696894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-81401544824669685522008-12-01T16:27:00.000+10:002008-12-01T16:27:00.000+10:00Go get 'em girl! War is War!xoxoxGo get 'em girl! War is War!<BR/>xoxoxTeenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10366928264475596399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-52863341219392579202008-12-01T16:19:00.000+10:002008-12-01T16:19:00.000+10:00oh nowell to put it frankly that sucks.i was look...oh no<BR/>well to put it frankly that sucks.<BR/>i was looking at the lovely apples forming on my old apple tree and wondering if i should be baging them up or doing something to protect them<BR/>congrats on the visitors im not suprised...its a very inspirational little blog u have herejacqui joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01932031775990803797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-39822798161656174292008-12-01T15:53:00.000+10:002008-12-01T15:53:00.000+10:00I use soapy water and diatomaceous earth to battle...I use soapy water and diatomaceous earth to battle the bugs, it works great. I don't know if you can get Ivory dish soap where you are, but if you can, I believe it the best for bugs IMHO, you don't need much, just enough to make the water sudsy when you swish it, it breaks the surface tension of the water and it makes it stick to the bugs, they drown. Good luck!WrethaOffGridhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04941116263529261885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-24198622613315635472008-12-01T15:45:00.000+10:002008-12-01T15:45:00.000+10:00Grr, I hate losing out to fruit fly! We lost all o...Grr, I hate losing out to fruit fly! We lost all our big self sewn tomatoes (the best kind, since there's no work involved). luckily our baby tomatoes (also self sewn) are somehow coming through unscathed.<BR/><BR/>Good luck with the little blighters!Wockethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03434692347924718517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-71610817622247128112008-12-01T15:36:00.000+10:002008-12-01T15:36:00.000+10:00It is such a satisfying feeling to grow your own d...It is such a satisfying feeling to grow your own dinner. We probably average producing or bartering for 50% of our own food. (we do have the advantage of growing our own wheat for bread etc.) I love your blog having just found it recently. It gave me just the boost I needed. It is definitely a practice and not a destination.<BR/><BR/>Are there any natural predators to your fruit flies you could encourage? I have been wiped out in the past by wooly worms, squirrels,white flies, and beetles. Completely aggravating! It really makes one conscious of the precariousness of our food supply.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-185099010139405222008-12-01T14:06:00.000+10:002008-12-01T14:06:00.000+10:00Hello Rhonda, we are battling fruit fly too and us...Hello Rhonda, we are battling fruit fly too and using the Naturalure bait. Last season most of our tomato crop was FF damaged and I want to save it this year.<BR/><BR/>Our local nursery suggest that you fix a bucket on its side and spray the bait inside the bucket to protect it from light showers. Apparently FF prefer blue to yellow, so we started with yellow buckets but are now adding blue buckets to the system. I am hoping that it works!Emhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06512540414202977424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-85633131906588423042008-12-01T13:38:00.000+10:002008-12-01T13:38:00.000+10:00We are in Wollongong NSW> and last year i lost...We are in Wollongong NSW> and last year i lost my whole tomoato crop to fruit fly and this year lost a whole peach tree worth of fruit. Very disappointed to say the least... I ate a peach that was not effected and the taste was magnificant.<BR/><BR/>Such a waste......<BR/>Donna from WollongongAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-3774283758860897762008-12-01T12:50:00.000+10:002008-12-01T12:50:00.000+10:00We have been having problems with fruit flys here ...We have been having problems with fruit flys here in Central California caost lately. I had never had a problem til now. I am not growing anything, it comes with my produce I suppose when I buy it at the store. We'll see what happens next year when my garden gets started! Good luck on your war!<BR/>BTW, your dinner looks yummy!claudiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16572555442321120647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-26989394833874636732008-12-01T11:34:00.000+10:002008-12-01T11:34:00.000+10:00Hi RhondaI've been reading for quite a while n...Hi Rhonda<BR/><BR/>I've been reading for quite a while now - but haven't commented before!!! I understand your frustration!!! Since I started living more simply and enjoying fresher and better quality produce, I don't ever want to go back to supermarket tasteless fruit & veggies!!! <BR/><BR/>I'm also on the Sunshine Coast, and in the meantime while the war is being fought, I can recommend the Noosaville Farmers Markets on a Sunday morning from 7 - 12 to get fresh fruit & veggies from. A lot of it is local, and organically grown, and the taste is always good. <BR/><BR/>I also remember as daharja said, the border security in and out of South Australia. I haven't driven it in years, but it's sad that it's not there now. Also, when I fly, I do recall that Qantas will sometimes put a page over the aircraft that says "in some states, fruit & veg cannot be taken into" or something like that - but they never say "here in NSW, it is illegal to bring in fruit from Queensland, ensure you dispose of it" etc. <BR/><BR/>Anyways, enough rambling on - good luck with the war!!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-82416050854703342282008-12-01T10:53:00.000+10:002008-12-01T10:53:00.000+10:00I have heard that soapy water helps to keep the fr...I have heard that soapy water helps to keep the fruit fly at bay, apparently you wash your whole tree with it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-10939273634052006742008-12-01T10:49:00.000+10:002008-12-01T10:49:00.000+10:00Rhonda,how frustrating to lose your stone fruit an...Rhonda,how frustrating to lose your stone fruit and tomatoes to the wretched fruit fly. We have the same problem on the Gold Coast, have had for many years but I didn't realise they affected the tomatoes until I read your previous great post on growing them. It "clicked " that this was one of the problems at this time of year with my tomatoes.<BR/>Seeing your yummy nectarines in previous posts made me very keen to plant a tree but with all the problems I have decided against it.<BR/>I have a mandarin and joppa orange (thick skin) and I haven't had a problem there but I do put up the empty soft drink bottle trap with vegemite and water in it. It seems to catch insects, I can only hope they are the fruit fly. Neighbours get the fly in lemon trees but we still eat the good parts. They dont bother with traps which probably doesn't help.<BR/>I am one of the daily readers who thoroughly enjoys your blog.Thanks for sharing your days and helpful information with us.<BR/>Regards Patricia.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-49777442203720296512008-12-01T10:40:00.000+10:002008-12-01T10:40:00.000+10:00I don't personally know a lot about fruit fly but ...I don't personally know a lot about fruit fly but I know that my mum gets brilliant fruit each year by wrapping her trees in flyscreen. She just sews together big sheets of it and then wraps the tree like a lollipop (she reckons it is cheap to buy and doesn't upset the organicness of her garden) tying it with big piece of cloth around the trunk (I understand some people soak this in pyrethrum but mum doesn't). Her garden was destroyed in the storms (she lives in Brizzy) but no fruit fly troubles!!CAMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06722605415309678068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-42739564175224265922008-12-01T10:15:00.000+10:002008-12-01T10:15:00.000+10:00Your dinner did look yummy! Do you make tuna loaf...Your dinner did look yummy! Do you make tuna loaf like meatloaf? I've never tried it but I do like tuna.<BR/><BR/>Blessings,<BR/>DianneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com