Carrot fly eggs in soil?

kinkyjinks

I'm completely new when it comes to veg growing. I got an allotment plot this year and have been busy digging it over. One bed I dug up had last years carrots in it but they're all really small and look like they haven't been thinned enough, or that's what I thought.

I spent the afternoon at the plot today and was told that even though the allotment has been there for years no plot holder has been able to successfully grow carrots because there are carrot fly eggs in the soil. I'm not really bothered about growing regular carrots because you can normally pick them up for a decent price but I did want to grow some of these carrots. If there's carrot fly eggs in the soil am I really doomed to never be able to grow carrots? Is there anything I can plant/do so I can grow carrots? I'd rather use the space for something else if it's impossible.

Wookey

Perhaps leave them out for a year or two and then plant them taking care to keep them covered with a very fine mesh net at the times the carrot fly is prevalent. There is also a few chemicals/pesticides you can add that are supposed to help prevent attacks.

kinkyjinks

Wookey wrote: »

Perhaps leave them out for a year or two and then plant them taking care to keep them covered with a very fine mesh net at the times the carrot fly is prevalent. There is also a few chemicals/pesticides you can add that are supposed to help prevent attacks.

Thanks, I'll grow my carrot seeds at home this year then. If the eggs are already in the soil will it make a difference if I cover the soil with fine mesh? Do the eggs lie dormant for a few years? Does that also mean I can't grow parsnips cos they're similar(ish)? :eek: So many questions, so much inexperience Maybe I should learn to walk/crawl first?

seraphina

Try a fly-resistant variety such as Resistafly - they are carrot fly resistant; there's a few other ones around as well but I can't remember the names.

I'm a firm believer in jumping in feet first;)

Nikki

Carrot fly are attracted to carrots by their smell, they also cannot fly very high so either try companion planting or put them in something above the height they can fly. We grew ours in dustbins last year and had no carrot fly probs, this year we are putting them in with our onions as the smell of the onions masks the smell of the carrots - you could also companion plant with herbs. The only problem we have ever had with parsnips is getting them to germinate.

realfood

If growing carrots, always grow them in a fresh piece of ground each year and cover with fine netting. As far as I know, any carrot fly eggs in the ground will hatch the following year. There are no chemicals/ pesticides that are licensed nowadays for domestic gardeners to use on carrots. It should be alright to grow parsnips.

kinkyjinks

realfood wrote: »

If growing carrots, always grow them in a fresh piece of ground each year and cover with fine netting. As far as I know, any carrot fly eggs in the ground will hatch the following year. There are no chemicals/ pesticides that are licensed nowadays for domestic gardeners to use on carrots. It should be alright to grow parsnips.

So, going by that logic, the top quarter of the plot I have is in land that was previously used as a plot for many years. The other three quarters of my plot was newly created last year. The people who had the plot last year (their first year) grew potatoes on the newly created plot (which are still in the ground) that suffered from blight. Seemingly all the potaotes grown on that allotment suffer from blight too?

The carrots I'm digging up are from the top quarter of my plot so would it be ok to try and grow them where the potatoes where last year or are they still part of the same family?

kinkyjinks

seraphina wrote: »

Try a fly-resistant variety such as Resistafly - they are carrot fly resistant; there's a few other ones around as well but I can't remember the names.

I'm a firm believer in jumping in feet first;)

LOL me too normally but when I was told noone on the allotment could grow carrots because of carrot fly eggs in the soil it sort of made me wanna grow them that bit more :o:o

serena

http://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/problem-solving/garden-pests-carrot-fly/

Good information here.

I grow carrots successfully, sowing a bit later, around the first week in May. I cover the crop immediately with environmesh, weighted down with bricks, and keep it covered. I also grow a row of flowers such as love in a mist either side, hopefully as a distraction. I do sow in a different place each year.

Potato blight is airborn, usually prevalent in muggy humid spells, like we sometimes get in August. So, avoid it by groing First Earlies, which will be lifted before then , and second earlies. If they get caught, then cut all the foliage off immediately, and leave for a week before lifting. (I usually then lift as I want them).

I have lost all my outdoor tomatoes to blight for a few years now, and decided not to bother last year - no blight. Typical. I'm a complete optimist, so I'm giving it another try this year...

WestonDave

I've never tried this stuff - http://www.nemasysinfo.com/gyo.shtml but it does appear to offer to sort out carrot root fly via the same nematode system is fairly well known for dealing with slugs. Basically its a very small live parasite that attacks the pest but isn't chemical based and won't attack anything else. Depending on price it might be worth a go if you can find a stockist - if you use it in combination with nets to keep anyone else's carrot flies off, you may be able to clear your plot over time. (Might be worth a few quid just to prove the local knowalls wrong!)

kinkyjinks

serena wrote: »

http://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/problem-solving/garden-pests-carrot-fly/

Good information here.

I grow carrots successfully, sowing a bit later, around the first week in May. I cover the crop immediately with environmesh, weighted down with bricks, and keep it covered. I also grow a row of flowers such as love in a mist either side, hopefully as a distraction. I do sow in a different place each year.

Potato blight is airborn, usually prevalent in muggy humid spells, like we sometimes get in August. So, avoid it by groing First Earlies, which will be lifted before then , and second earlies. If they get caught, then cut all the foliage off immediately, and leave for a week before lifting. (I usually then lift as I want them).

I have lost all my outdoor tomatoes to blight for a few years now, and decided not to bother last year - no blight. Typical. I'm a complete optimist, so I'm giving it another try this year...

Thanks for that link I think I'll try growing something next to them as well and Im sure I've got a packet of love in the mist seeds somewhere.