May 16, 2002
Etc. Campus news and notes
A ROYAL HONOR: Professor Emeritus George Hiroaki Kakiuchi will receive the prestigious Emperor’s Award, the Order of the Rising Sun, in ceremonies at the official residence of the Consul General of Japan, on May 24. Kakiuchi is recognized for his outstanding contributions to guiding and nurturing Japanese geographers, and to developing geographical studies in Japan. He joined the faculty of the UW College of Arts and Sciences in 1957. His decades of research reflect his interest in a geographical analysis of human developments, especially the historical evolution of farming settlements and agricultural land use.
WORM BINS RETURN: Just when you thought you knew everything there is to know about managing fruit fly infestations in your worm bin, another campus gardener has weighed in. You may remember that some time ago we reported the Urban Horticulture librarians’ method for dealing with such infestations, which brought an alternative response from an experienced worm bin operator. Now we’re told by Ian Taylor that the best way to deal with fruit fly infestations in worm bins is not to allow them to happen in the first place.
Taylor, who is a technology manager for Computing & Communications on campus but a master composter on his own time, says that if you make sure each addition of food waste is well buried in the bedding material you go a long way towards discouraging fruit flies. “I also rest a sheet of plastic on the top of the bedding as an additional barrier, and a lid that fits well provides further protection,” Taylor says.
Of course, Taylor does have a plan just in case the fruit flies make it under his radar. “I recommend that you give the worm bin contents a good stir, put a layer of fresh bedding material over the top (I favor dead leaves), cover with plastic, close the lid and manage as outlined above,” he says. “The key is not to leave any food that might attract fruit flies on or near the surface. I have operated worm bins this way for over a decade and I cannot remember the last time fruit flies were a problem.”
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