re-useable produce bags - no more plastic
Blog friend Mary has spoken about bugs eating her tomatoes as they ripen on her vines. Several commenters offered solutions and I recalled the re-useable produce bags I had bought several years ago which I now use to buy fruit and veg instead of the plastic bags available in stores. I mentioned such things could be used to loosely wrap the trusses of tomatoes to keep off the bugs.
This is what I'm talking about:
mesh bags
drawstring closure
the mesh is fine enough that moths and butterflies can't lay eggs on the plants, so hatching grubs can't eat the fruits
made from recycled plastic drink bottles (okay plastic, but re-useable for years) and available online
I think they come in assorted sizes and are packed into this little drawstring bag with a carabiner clip to hang off your shopping trolley or handbag so you always have them handy.
I bought mine quite some time ago, and haven't checked to see if they are still available, I'll leave that up to anyone who is interested in this handy alternative.
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Comments
I must ask if the children and grandchildren learned the same values.
EC; I have no trouble opening those pastic bags and will sometimes use one if packaged meat is a bit leaky. Those get re-used when scooping the litter tray.
Margaret D; not anymore. I don't grow fruits and veg here, not enough space and the soil is very poor.
XO
WWW
Charlotte; fabric bags do add weight, but these mesh bags weigh nothing just like the plastic ones. It's a shame your stores discourage them, but you can still use them, unless they are actually illegal, and maybe more people will copy.
Andrew; they would be worth the cost as you use and reuse them for all sorts of things and they are washable. I rarely have trouble opening those plastic bags, you can put the top section between both hands and rub vigorously, or you can look along the side to see where the "fold" is and rub there between thumb and fingers to loosen it.
Jenn Jilks; try it :)
messymimi; it worked for me with things like tomatoes where you can cover the whole truss with one bag. It was more time consuming to cover individual fruits like peaches and nectarines, I only had dwarf trees, which made it somewhat easier. For a full size tree the bags would be impossible. A few metres/yards of mosquito netting thrown over and tied around the trunk is better for that.
WWW; they work well for buying loose fruit and veggies, with each bag holding about 2-3 pounds, and they fit nicely over trusses of growing tomatoes and things like capsicums (bell peppers) or even smallish bunches of grapes.
You are allowed to use nothing - or the plastic provided.
I always chose "nothing".
You are not allowed to bring your own for fruit, veggies, nuts etc but in stores for the rich. Where I certainly can not and don´t want to go.
Hilarious.
To top that: you can still buy plastic bags at the checkout - and young people do that!
Since decades we have our backpacks!
But then, kids these days also have the money to buy at the bakery for lunch - times have changed (I talk of from 7 years+!!!!)
The "snacks" come in a mix of paper and plastic, it´s sad.
It could be so easy to help Mother Nature...