[hogwarden]

 ;)Well this is what I`ve found this year!
1.Two rows of carrots with turnips on one side and spring onions on the other.
Turnip side suffered about +50% damage
S. Onion side about 20% hit.
2. Single row of carrots 3m away with scorzonero down one side.
All carrots pulled so far are completely clear!

Last year I grew scorzo. alongside both carrot runs and no fly probs - this year I was complacent and thought `no carrot fly here!`-and got hit -now with a trial that I never set out to make it seems to confirm a bit of truth in the old ways!

An OB near me grows his carrots just fine and sprinkles spring onion seeds along the row after sowing the carrots and he doesn`t seem to have a problem.
The Scorzonero trick is noted in some books and -well-it does seem to work!-and you get a rare `other` crop to mystify your non gardener friends.

(Carrot type is Chatenay red cored)

[binner]

last year was the first time i grew carrots, and the plot was only started the year before so i thought there would be none about, all the early carrots got done but not the main crop of autumn king, so this year i grew autumn king early from march right upto june planting a row or two every few weeks and i have not had one touched by the fly's, seems they dont like them

[ulsterfairy]

I have recently bought a book about growing herbs, it had a brief section on companion planting and suggest rosemary and thyme mask the scent of the carrots.  Im going to give it a go next year. Very few of the other "lottie" holders grow carrots because of the dreaded fly so im going to try everthing including growing onions and spring onions amongst the carrots as well as a barrier around. 

My dad believes he has success by avoiding thining the carrots or being careful not to crush the leaves if he needs to I think he also grows onions around as well!!

[Growster...]

Thinning does get the carrot fly all excited Hog. We lost a 30' row, but the blighters left another row six ft away.

It's bad luck unfortunately, but I put in 60' of Autumn King which are just showing, as I'm trying to beat them as well!

Keep trying though!

[JayG]

Luck doesn't come into it if you protect them with something like enviromesh (OK, it's expensive but should last for up to 10 years.)

If you like gambling then by all means do so, but be aware that the "3 feet high growing technique" isn't completely foolproof, and companion planting, or "no thinning" techniques even less so.

[NASH]

I have 2, 5 mtr rows under double debris netting which has been really good and so far no root fly and i was picking 8" long carrots today which is a pleasure with no damage on them

[operabunny]

Has anyone on here tried repeat sowings but put each batch in a different space so when you pick the earliest ones you aren't 'inviting' carrot fly to the next batch?

[Growster...]

Has anyone on here tried repeat sowings but put each batch in a different space so when you pick the earliest ones you aren't 'inviting' carrot fly to the next batch?

That's an interesting variation on the 'sacrificial row' technique Operas!

I'm also wondering if the fact that I liberally sprayed my second row (still apparently clear), with strong 6X when they showed, and carried on doing it, may have some benefit. That stuff really does affect everyone's sense of smell, almost as far as where Argyllie lives...;0)

But then I'm not a carrot fly either...

Next-Plot-Pete has a two-foot fence of close netting around fis carrots in a square, and swears by it. The swearing is actually from having to climb over to weed the s*ds...

[dig4victory]

We NEVER get carrot fly probs - but then again, we NEVER thin ours out - and we still get some bigguns coming up!

[mumofstig]

You know the old saying " never say never" ...hope the good luck continues 

[sunshineband]

After years of all sorts of successes/failures with growing carrot fly free carrots, I can honestly say there is only one completely foolproof way of doing this --- under envrionmesh or other very fine netting.

If around (and therein lies the variable unknown  ) they can get through debris netting and ignore any other highly scented plant near the carrots.

On the school plot we never have any issues just growing them in the open ground and they are clear. - no carrot fly around there as no-one lese nearby grows veg  .  On the plot I now grow them under good cover - lots of carrot fly , lots of people grwoing veg 

PS Some people have success with a physical barrier around the bed about 80 -100cm high.

So ---- luck can sometimes prevail and give the idea cfs 'don't like' a type of carrot or a companion plant, but luck can also go the other way.

and that's what I think 

[brown thumb]

 famous last words etc to date i havent any carrot fly problems by growing 2-3 rows of onions each side of the carrots  last year i did the same and no problems i;ll go out there later  and probly find them riddled

[NASH]

I picked a few more today