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never grown carrots and carrot fly

hi all

I have read so much about carrot fly, am I right to be put off giving carrots/parsnips a go? x

 

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  • Busy Bee2Busy Bee2 Posts: 1,005

    It may take a while for the carrot fly to find you.  Two years ago, when I first got a raised bed going, I planted carrots and we had a fine old harvest of healthy carrots - early Nantes they were, although we planted them a bit late.  Last year, I planted EN, and Chantenay red cored and Autumn King, and the carrot fly arrived and all of them got black lines through them.  image  This year, I have made a frame around the carrot bed, and have made sure to grow the carrots in a bed that had no carrots last year, in case the larvae are in the soil.  And it looks like this...

    image

     attractive feature in any garden, I'm sure you'll agree!  But needs must where the carrot fly drives, etc.

  • Dave MorganDave Morgan Posts: 3,123

    I like that idea busy. Might build one tomorrow!

  • Busy Bee2Busy Bee2 Posts: 1,005

    I'm planning to have bespoke frames for all my raised beds Dave, so I can crop rotate, and use polythene over the top in winter to warm up the soil.  But it doesn't look so nice.   We also get wasps all over the late strawberries, and hoardes of cabbage white butterflies, so it is all a bit essential image

  • Steve 309Steve 309 Posts: 2,753

    Is feverfew any good for confusing the little beggars, I wonder?  I have some on the allotment and have moved them to the edges of my root and brassica beds in the hope of disguising the smell.

  • Dave MorganDave Morgan Posts: 3,123

    Well the good thing for me is I have a small allotment 100mtr from my house which came my way only in early April. I am behind with sowing and planting, but I know it will all catch up, but I was wondering how to resist the carrot fly, that is a great solution, especially as I have access to unlimited pallets.

  • Lupin 1Lupin 1 Posts: 8,916

    I grow carrots in buckets, hopefully high enough to prevent carrotfly, but do plant a couple of garlic chives in with them & put some cuttings from curry plant on top.

    Liseals, only probs I've had with parsnip is getting them to germinate, don't know if  carrot root fly a prob with them but wouldn't think so based on name.

    Have a go, grow what you enjoy eating image

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  • artjakartjak Posts: 4,167

    KEF; excuse me if you already know this, but parsnip seed has a very short shelf life; that may be the cause of the germination problems.

    Busy, you will still need some height around the bed. The carrot fly does not fly very high at all. I normally grow them in big high pots; one year I had to grow them quite low down in a very large grow bag, so I placed canes at each corner and tied polythene on to them to a height of 60 cm. It certainly worked.image

  • wrinkly1wrinkly1 Posts: 50

    has anyone grown carrots in a polytunnel. and with what results. it might keep out carrotfly.

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