Tomato plants and fruit fly baith (forum)

Kerry starts with ...
Tomatoes. Two summers ago I grew 3 cherry tomato plants, volunteers, in styrofoam boxes with cheap potting mix, cow manure, ozmocote and chicken manure pellets. They grew well into Autumn and gave me masses of delicious, sweet fruit. No fruit fly or other insect problems. This year I grew 5 cherry tomato plants in ground (compacted and poor) and a large, volunteer tomato plant in a pot with cheap potting mix. All I added to the 6 tomato plants was worm castings and water from my 2 worm farms in the yard. Lovely, sweet cherry tomatoes. The large tomato's fruit was very tasty too. From my understanding, the better the soil via organic and/or bio-dynamic methods, then the stronger and more prolific the vegetable, fruit or plant. Seasol or seaweed is a fabulous plant cell builder too.

I was told that cherry tomatoes and non-hybrid, heritage varieties of large, thick-skinned tomatoes do not attract the fruit fly. Working with nature gets the best results. Like having 2 crops, so if 1 fails you have the other to fall back on.

Here is a fruit fly bate recipe from a very reliable source, a man who grows his food organically and bio-dynamically in the Hunter region. Two litres of water, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 1 cup of sugar, 2 tablespoons of cloudy amonia. This makes 10 baits. Burn 2 holes 0.5cm (3/8") each on either side of a plastic milk bottle and 3/4 of the way up. Pour in sufficient mixture and hang the bottle/s in the foliage of the tree or vine. With tomatoes, place it closer to the ground. He uses it all year round for maximum benefit. It does need to be in the shade.

Happy growing, Kerry

Time: 2nd October 2008 3:56pm

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Anonymous says...
Thanks Kerry, will give it a try.

Time: 3rd October 2008 8:51am

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