FRUIT FLIES

From my understanding, ants are not pollinators they are just after the nectar. Mr. Google says passion fruit needs crosspollination from a flower from a different vine. If you are producing fruit then you have some insects pollinating, it is not always honey bees, there are tons of different types of bees and beetles that do the job and are not always easily seen.

I agree that insecticides that are not natural is not the way to grow. Vinegar and water will kill the ants. Mr. Google says fruit flies are attracted to ripe fruit or fruit fermenting...maybe picking the fruit a bit earlier would help?

Shawn

 

Mama and Papa are growing Veggies on our Lot and we have been giving them Ice tube plastic bags to place over the Veggies which works well, unless the Veggie out grows the bag. But it has saved many from being stung, but I have a feeling it is also bringing on the ripening process a lil early as the Vegetables are smaller than I anticipated yet are ripe.

 

I have heard a few tales here about Bitter Melon and Egg Plant... Maybe wrapping them first would have saved an embarrassing trip to the Doctors...

 

Maybe the extra heat from the bags are causing them to ripen early? Little air flow...but are cheap bags. How about the white insect screen that is available? Some small zip ties and you could make some bags, haven't tried it but the Koreans use similar for their pear apples and it seems to work.

We've had some struggles with some plants so I made a PVC/insect screen frame before I left to place over some newly planted seeds in the garden. The wife just planted some seeds the other day so, fingers crossed we will have some better luck.

Off topic...we purchased some vermicompost from the place by the airport (don't remember the name now) and we put that around the garden and the wife's struggling flower gardens as well as a bunch of flower seeds and before I left seeds were popping up everywhere and she says even more have been coming up since I left this past Saturday. 250 peso for a 50 kilo bag is golden in my opinion.

Shawn

 

That is my thought also, I know back in Oz you place unripened fruits in a brown paper bag and it ripens quickly (I am told due to the carbon dioxide emitted) and I also remove all veggies/fruit from their plastic bags/wrappings before placing into the crisper in the fridge due to them quickly over-ripening and going rotten...

I tried to relate that to the family here and suggested they buy the bags like others use on their Mango's, or maybe cut up a rice sack and sew them to make small bags so it can 'breathe' but as usual the first thing they do is look at ''cost compared to efficiency'', cost wins every-time... (Using our Ice tube bags is FREE) Some things you just cannot change...

 

"removing food source" ..... he could give his passion fruit to the community. that should take care of the food source quick.

 

I think you are correct; the plastic bags will create a greenhouse effect within and it will be very hot and encourage the production of CO2, which hastens the ripening process.

Btw, saw you image - call me stupid but, until this moment in my long life, I did NOT know condoms grew on trees.

 

Not sure how to get rid of this posting!