Carrot root fly
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pigletwillie
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I understand that we get two waves of these pests during the season. Firstly, when do I need to avoid sowing carrots and secondly, is it an urban myth that they can fly no higher than 20 inches?
Last edited by pigletwillie on Mon Feb 27, 2006 7:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Kindest regards Piglet
"You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind".
"You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind".
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Chantal
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Well I heard it was 18 inches but what's two inches between friends? Seriously, I believe the height thing is true but not sure about the waves.
Chantal
I know this corner of the earth, it smiles for me...
I know this corner of the earth, it smiles for me...
To avoid the first wave carrot fly sow no earlier than the third week in June. The second wave comes too late to be of real concern. Info from demo at HRI Wellsbourne. It is just as well also if you can manage it to sow so thinly as not to have to thin the carrots' leaves as this attracts the fly. One way of doing this is pelleted seed but rather expensive. I haven't used a barrier as such but sowing in a polytunnel avoids most of the damage. Not a problem on autumn sown carrots.
Allan
Allan
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sandersj89
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I always sow and cover with fleece tunnels which stay in place until harvest. I find this the only sure way to stop the problem.
Over the years I have tried barriers and varieties that are meant to be less prone to attack such as sytan, resista fly and fly away but find the fleece tunnel works far better than any other method.
This is how I make my tunnels:
Firstly what you will need:
Row of fleece
Garden string, preferably polypropylene
3mm or 4mm galvanised wire, not too thick or you will have a problem bending it.
Pliers and wire cutters
Scissors or a knife
First step is to cut the wire into lengths about 14 to 16 inches longer than the width of the fleece.
Bend the wire into a hoop and at each end make a full twist, leaving a leg of about 4 to 6 inches below the loop. The leg is driven into the soil so if you are in a very exposed area you might want to cut the wire longer.
Cut a piece of string long enough to tie from one twist, stretching to the other twist, leaving enough spare to allow you can tie it.
Place each hoop over the crop row, driving the legs into the ground. Place a hoop about each 3 foot along the row.
Cut the fleece to length, allow about 20 inches over the length of the row. Bunch the ends and tie. Stake one end of the fleece at the end of the row and stretch the over the hoops to the other end of the row. Stake this end as well.
Finally take the string and bring it over the top of the fleece and tie to the other twist in the wire so the string holds the fleece to the hoop. This stops the fleece billowing around too much in the wind. I also place clods of earth along the bottom sides of the fleece to keep it tight to the ground.
If you need access to the crop it is the work of seconds to lift one side of the fleece. No need to untie anything or remove the hoops. I leave the cloche in place until harvest.
The wire hoops last years and I tend to get 2 years out of my fleece. Still far cheaper than bought cloches and it certainly keeps carrot fly at bay and gives good crops! You could also use environ mesh as this will allow more rain through which may be a factor early on during germination.
I hope that all makes sense and is useful to some.
Jerry
Over the years I have tried barriers and varieties that are meant to be less prone to attack such as sytan, resista fly and fly away but find the fleece tunnel works far better than any other method.
This is how I make my tunnels:
Firstly what you will need:
Row of fleece
Garden string, preferably polypropylene
3mm or 4mm galvanised wire, not too thick or you will have a problem bending it.
Pliers and wire cutters
Scissors or a knife
First step is to cut the wire into lengths about 14 to 16 inches longer than the width of the fleece.
Bend the wire into a hoop and at each end make a full twist, leaving a leg of about 4 to 6 inches below the loop. The leg is driven into the soil so if you are in a very exposed area you might want to cut the wire longer.
Cut a piece of string long enough to tie from one twist, stretching to the other twist, leaving enough spare to allow you can tie it.
Place each hoop over the crop row, driving the legs into the ground. Place a hoop about each 3 foot along the row.
Cut the fleece to length, allow about 20 inches over the length of the row. Bunch the ends and tie. Stake one end of the fleece at the end of the row and stretch the over the hoops to the other end of the row. Stake this end as well.
Finally take the string and bring it over the top of the fleece and tie to the other twist in the wire so the string holds the fleece to the hoop. This stops the fleece billowing around too much in the wind. I also place clods of earth along the bottom sides of the fleece to keep it tight to the ground.
If you need access to the crop it is the work of seconds to lift one side of the fleece. No need to untie anything or remove the hoops. I leave the cloche in place until harvest.
The wire hoops last years and I tend to get 2 years out of my fleece. Still far cheaper than bought cloches and it certainly keeps carrot fly at bay and gives good crops! You could also use environ mesh as this will allow more rain through which may be a factor early on during germination.
I hope that all makes sense and is useful to some.
Jerry
Farmers son looking to get back to the land full time one day.....
Holiday in Devon? Come stay with us: http://www.crablakefarm.co.uk/
Holiday in Devon? Come stay with us: http://www.crablakefarm.co.uk/
Ever thought of writing a book,Jerry? I think that those are some of the clearest instructions I've seen on cloche making.
Thought for the Day...if carrot fly can only go 18" above the ground how do they get over the garden fence?
Carole.
Thought for the Day...if carrot fly can only go 18" above the ground how do they get over the garden fence?
Carole.
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Guest
Thank Jerry, that's brilliant. I've got my fleece ready to use and was debating how to do this. I've loads of plastic so I guess I can make the poly sort too. 
Excellent posting there, Jerry.
I've used a similar method with both fleece and enviromesh. Enviromesh has worked much better for me - I think it is because it allows air and water to move through to the crop and everything stays cooler. Fleece seemed to provide an ideal cosy place for every local ant colony for miles around and the carrots didn't do very well.
In the 'Big Dig' programme that Beeb shelved recently after a couple of episodes (sighs heavily), an allotmenteer was going to try and grow carrots in one half of one of those large blue barrels that you see around, reckoning that it was above the 18 - 24in level. But of course we've yet to hear the end of the story. I've acquired a few of these and am going to give it a try this year.
John
I've used a similar method with both fleece and enviromesh. Enviromesh has worked much better for me - I think it is because it allows air and water to move through to the crop and everything stays cooler. Fleece seemed to provide an ideal cosy place for every local ant colony for miles around and the carrots didn't do very well.
In the 'Big Dig' programme that Beeb shelved recently after a couple of episodes (sighs heavily), an allotmenteer was going to try and grow carrots in one half of one of those large blue barrels that you see around, reckoning that it was above the 18 - 24in level. But of course we've yet to hear the end of the story. I've acquired a few of these and am going to give it a try this year.
John
Hi
Jerry's posting is brilliant. I have tried all methods but only one works - you have to cover the carrots. Last year I used enviromesh for the first time and grew the best carrots for 30 years. It was better than fleece. Like many I grow on 1.2M (4ft) beds and make a cover from blue water pipe attached to short bamboo canes pushed into the ground over which the mesh is fitted. Wish I had pictures as well!
Chris
Jerry's posting is brilliant. I have tried all methods but only one works - you have to cover the carrots. Last year I used enviromesh for the first time and grew the best carrots for 30 years. It was better than fleece. Like many I grow on 1.2M (4ft) beds and make a cover from blue water pipe attached to short bamboo canes pushed into the ground over which the mesh is fitted. Wish I had pictures as well!
Chris
Chris
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maureenc
Brilliant instructions Jerry, Thank You.
Chris, I have made the same constructions as you and agree that the mesh gives a healthier environment.
John, on the Big Dig "grow them high" experiment - Yes, it does work. I have grown my cleanest pest free (slug and carrot fly) carrots over the past 2 years by sowing the seed into those 2ft tall, square galvanised incinerators. Lined with weed-proofing material and filled with compost they worked a treat. I found that I didn't need any form of protective cover this way and the 6" legs deterred the slugs.
Maureen
Chris, I have made the same constructions as you and agree that the mesh gives a healthier environment.
John, on the Big Dig "grow them high" experiment - Yes, it does work. I have grown my cleanest pest free (slug and carrot fly) carrots over the past 2 years by sowing the seed into those 2ft tall, square galvanised incinerators. Lined with weed-proofing material and filled with compost they worked a treat. I found that I didn't need any form of protective cover this way and the 6" legs deterred the slugs.
Maureen
Thanks Maureen - that sounds really encouraging. Can you tell me what compost you used in your bin? Did you have any problems with watering - I suppose as long as you keep a good check on it you won't get splitting problems? I have some exhausted grow bag compost and was thinking of using this 50:50 with sieved soil and also using a soluble feed as the carrots grow - filling a large container with fresh potting compost would be rather expensive.
Thats a useful tip about keeping the container up on legs to deter slugs.
John
Thats a useful tip about keeping the container up on legs to deter slugs.
John
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maureenc
Hi John,
I use a mix of the cheapest multi-purpose, old growbag stuff, leaf mould, garden compost whatever is to hand. I don't tend to add soil 'cos I think it makes it too compacted but I could be wrong and there's nowt like experimenting is there. My soil is/was heavy clay but if yours is loamy or even sandy you would probably be OK. I tend to re-use the compost from these bins instead of soil conditioner anyway or mix it half and half with fresh stuff to over-winter salads in the bins so the expense is shared - sort of.
There was no problem with watering despite the drought last year, just whenever I remembered really. I mixed some seaweed meal and bone meal with the compost when I filled the bins and I gave them some comfrey juice or seaweed solution as and when I thought of it later. A bit hit and miss really! But the roots were gorgeous, clean as a whistle, not a blemish on them and because the depth of the compost is like a real deep bed system I grew them very close together - not in rows, just scattered the seed and hardly thinned at all.
Good luck anyway John and happy carrot munching later in the year!
Maureen
I use a mix of the cheapest multi-purpose, old growbag stuff, leaf mould, garden compost whatever is to hand. I don't tend to add soil 'cos I think it makes it too compacted but I could be wrong and there's nowt like experimenting is there. My soil is/was heavy clay but if yours is loamy or even sandy you would probably be OK. I tend to re-use the compost from these bins instead of soil conditioner anyway or mix it half and half with fresh stuff to over-winter salads in the bins so the expense is shared - sort of.
There was no problem with watering despite the drought last year, just whenever I remembered really. I mixed some seaweed meal and bone meal with the compost when I filled the bins and I gave them some comfrey juice or seaweed solution as and when I thought of it later. A bit hit and miss really! But the roots were gorgeous, clean as a whistle, not a blemish on them and because the depth of the compost is like a real deep bed system I grew them very close together - not in rows, just scattered the seed and hardly thinned at all.
Good luck anyway John and happy carrot munching later in the year!
Maureen