5 minute freewrite Sunday prompt fruit fly

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This is my post for #freewriters Sunday prompt fruit fly hosted by @mariannewest

I had peaches, big yellow guavas with white meat, and ones with pink meat, they were my favorite, and figs. My husband chopped them all down. He said he is not having the trees if he can not eat the fruit.

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This is my small Caitlyn guava, it is all I have left, only because it came back. But the only way we get any to eat is while they are still green we tie a brown paper bag around a cluster of them. The guava in the middle of the above picture has a brown spot on it and if you cut it open you will see it is full of fruit fly worms.

They make poisons that you can spray on the fruit trees but I am not going to do that, even if they try to tell us that it is safe. I do not think putting poison on my food is safe.

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They do not get in the mulberries but little spiders do get on them, I look it over and wipe any spiders away before eating them. I always wonder if I missed any but I take the out of sight out of mind concept with them.

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If you want pest-free fruit you should grow star fruit, I have never seen any type of bug on mine.

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Bananas are also pest free.

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Our mangos do not get bugs in them unless they are left on the ground too long. But if we get a lot of rain when the tree is in bloom, the blooms get some sort of disease and fall off, and yes there is a spray to help prevent it, but still is it safe?

All photos are mine



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11 comments
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-I agree with you that putting poison in food is not good, but what option do we have to kill those bugs, I heard a farmer say that treating the soil with lime was good because from the soil the fungus or any disease that affects the plants would start.

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You know, that reminds me. I think my Uncle who grew huge beautiful gardens used lime for some reason, I bet it was to treat the soil. I will do research on it and see what I can find out. Thank you. He also took seaweed that washed up on shore, he would pile it on top of his garden area, and let it rot, when he was ready to plant, he tilled it into the soil. I do not know why he did this but it must have done something for all of the work there was in it.

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(Edited)

You can use peppermint oil or even black pepper as a spray to ward off a lot of flying things, BUT, you have to apply it after every rain ... meanwhile, your husband feels just as God does about the matter ... if the tree bears no fruit, it is cut down ... but there are natural solutions ... some fruits are not as susceptible, and peppermint and black pepper go far...

If it is very wet, there is probably a fungus that settles in ... blossom rot ... we rarely have those problems in drought-prone California, but when it does happen it is dramatic...

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We have overhead sprayers that water them so pepper is out or anything else that washes off easily. It is not a fungus because the fruit has worms in it. I am sure they are from fruit flies.

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This is a recipe for an organic pesticide ... just some more ideas ...

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I would have never thought baking soda to keep pests away. I knew about using neem oil but it is pricey so I will use vegetable oil.

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You can grow wonderful fruit in your zone @myjob. I think the organic spray @deeanndmatthews suggested should help get rid of fungus or insects eating the fruit.

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I am going to look it up and see what is in it.

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