Ask Mavis: Let’s Open Up The Hotline, Shall We?

One of my favorite things about this blog is the sense of community we have and all of the comments people leave. I really believe I have some of the most amazing readers out there.

What I’ve also learned through the years is that you are all a bunch of smartie pants, and whenever I don’t know the answer to a question a readers asks, you guys always come through for me. Well guess what, you’re up again!

Here are a few questions and comments I’ve received on the One Hundred Dollars a Month Facebook page, in the comment section and via my  Mavis Hotline. I’m going to attempt to answer them, but I’m also hoping all you lovelies will take a look at the questions and chime in. I can guarantee the readers that asked these questions would appreciate all you geniuses out there taking a shot at them. I mean if two heads are better than one, than hundreds of heads will probably churn out some genius answers. 

I ordered tri-star strawberries last year, per your suggestion and we have loved them. This year they have really taken off! Well last night, the kiddos and I went and picked a ton for dinner, but there was something weird about the berries. They felt like they were full of water and soggy. They looked perfect, but felt all wrong. Upon further inspection… my husband spotted a couple of tiny white worms on them. I cut one open and it had even smaller white worms inside the berry. Do you know what this might be and how to fix it? I was planning on our family eating berries for another 2 months! Please help!?! Thanks!!!

~Jen

Okay Jen, I think what you’re describing is a Spotted Wing Drosophila. There are are a number of videos on how to identify and trap the flies on YouTube.

As far as treatment goes, cleaning up the infected fruit is important, along with setting apple cider vinegar traps. You can also use Spinosad, which is available at Home Depot, etc. It will need to be re-applied weekly during the rest of the growing season. Neam and pyrethrins are other organic pesticides that might work.

Eliminating any fruit that has fallen on the ground and any infested fruit remaining on plants in the garden can help kill off flies that might infest next year’s crops. You’ll have to place your infested fruit in a sealed plastic bag to destroy the eggs and larvae {gag}.  You can also place a fine netting over all your plants, but you have to make sure the net is applied before the strawberries begin to ripen so that flies won’t be caught inside the net. Also, an easy way to keep those pests out is to make sure you begin harvest as early as you can and continue to remove fruit as soon as they ripen.

Hello! My name is Omar and  would like to follow up with you concerning purchasing OneHundredDollarsAMonth.com.

~ Omar

I do have to commend your persistence. Last time I explained the site wasn’t for sale, unless you wanted to cut a check for $50 million. I’ve decided to renegotiate the terms of that deal. I’d like $50 million AND Ina Garten’s home and garden in the Hamptons. If you can swing that, you’ve got a deal.

Hi Mavis, I’ve been reading your blog for a long time now, and I always look forward to it! Your combination of strong work ethic, frugality and joie de vivre are truly inspirational. There is a topic I’d love to see covered in your blog … You admit that you have OCD tendencies and any shots of your house and garden are always immaculate. I’m wondering if you have a cleaning routine in the house that you’d care to share? Do you do it all yourself, or do you have anyone in to help you? 

~Kate

Every night I go to bed dreaming about hiring a maid, but then I remember that I would probably follow them around all day while they cleaned inspecting their work and redoing most of it anyway. Always seems like a big fat waste of money, so I just do it myself.

Obviously, there are chores I don’t mind and some that I loath. One trick is I always start with the chores I hate. Once I bust those out, the remaining ones don’t seem that bad. I’ve learned that whenever I leave the worst for last, I lose motivation fast! I will say there is not much in life I love more than a perfectly clean house. Makes me so happy!

I know you have a great relationship with your daughter, and you are sad about her going to college, so I hope this does not make you sadder. My daughter is eight, and I want to have a relationship with her like you have with your daughter when mine is a teenager. Any tips to help me create that awesome bond you two seem to have?

~Laura

I’ve screwed up a few things in my life, but somehow, that wasn’t one of them. My relationship with my daughter is one of the things I’m most proud of. She really is my buddy, and growing up, I have really always treated her that way. I’ve always tried to incorporate her into my passions and hobbies, and really take an interest in hers as well. The result is that we really enjoy so much of the same stuff and just have so much fun together. While it’s not always roses with a teenager, I’ve really tried to emphasize the “fun” in life. I have also really made it a point to spend quality time with her.

There is a difference between being with your kids and being present. I make a conscious effort to focus on her and not allow myself to become distracted or sucked into work or other projects. Connecting like that one-on-one has really helped us form a relationship that, I think, transcends the typical mother/daughter relationship. I just really adore the heck out of that kid, and I go out of my way to show that!

You are my favorite blogger and I like to look at the pictures of your garden on FB. My question is — how did you start it? What do you have on the ground between the raised beds that has no weeds? Weeds have taken over my garden this year completely and I’m determined to make mine look like yours this fall. It’s just too hot to deal with in the summer I’ve decided (I’m in AL). Please post some hints.

~Mary

This a two-part answer and I already know you’re not going to like part 2! First, I’m 100% obsessed with landscape fabric. OBSESSED. That alone cuts down on so many of the weeds in my garden. Part two requires a little elbow grease. Roll up your sleeves and work. Pulling weeds is an inevitable gardening chore that I sure don’t love, but it is necessary and totally unavoidable. Now how often you weed depends on whether or not you have perfectionist tendencies. If you’re not OCD, you can probably let those weeds stick around for awhile or at least but blinders on when you’re near them!

Hi Mavis, I was doing research on watering and hilling schedules for the potato box I built this year when I found your 2 posts from last year. However I can’t find a post on how they turned out. Which method worked best? 

~Jeff

First let me say, I personally believe the best way to grow potatoes is in the ground in a traditional trench method. But my results from my potato tower experiment were interesting {and surprising}. The tower I planted with straw and dirt produced the most potatoes {although still much less than the traditional method of planting has in the past for me}. I thought for sure it would yield the least amount of potatoes because when I had planted it, I packed so much dirt and straw in the wire cage, that I assumed the potatoes wouldn’t produce much. Boy was I wrong. Final Harvest – about 12 pounds of spuds.

~Mavis