[BumbleJo]

Hi folks, I seem to have beaten the carrot fly this year by splashing out on veggiemesh but would like to start pulling them now, is it ok to completely remove the mesh now?  Would make it so much easier to get at them...thanks.

[Mattgregory27]

This is what the RHS website says!!

Biology

•The maggots hatch from eggs laid in late May–June and in August-September
•Newly-hatched larvae feed on the fine roots but later bore into the tap roots. The brown scars are where tunnels near the root surface have collapsed
•Two or three generations of carrot fly can develop between late spring and autumn, with the pest overwintering as larvae or pupae

If the eggs are laid in August and September I would be tempted to leave the mesh on for a while but I am no expert so hopefully someone else will be able to confirm whether you are safe or not!!!

[fatbelly]

I too covered my Carrots with Enviromesh but won't be lifting the Mesh for another 2 weeks just to make sure.
Im guessing that now is okay but why not just wait another couple of weeks after all the Mesh has been on all Summer so whats another week or so.

[Steveharford]

I gave up for a couple of years after growing some beauties only to be mullered by the pesky things. I grew them in tubs this year, which were sat high up on an old workbench. So far so good but only suitable for stubby varieties but better than nowt.

[oldgrunge]

I leave the mesh on until the carrots are finished. When we need some carrots, I lift the mesh pull carrots as required, then replace mesh. Simples! 

[BumbleJo]

Ok folks, I'll leave it on for now.  It's just that the netting is quite low and I have to do some serious wriggling to get under the net whilst making sure the beasties don't fly in at that very minute!  I'm sure it'll be worth it in the end.  Thanks!

[Alifink]

I've tried growing resistafly carrots to reduce the need for netting, orange coloured wood is the best way to describe them, just awful.

[upthetump]

i grow mine in dustbins now, not a massive crop but enough baby carrots to keep us through late summer autumn and early winter (before hard frost). no fly for a few years now

[Growster...]

i grow mine in dustbins now, not a massive crop but enough baby carrots to keep us through late summer autumn and early winter (before hard frost). no fly for a few years now

That's the way we're growing them from now on, Up!

Four plastic buckets with holes drilled through their bottoms have produced some huge carrots when sown in compost, and in strict succession!

We still have a bed of ordinary carrots down at The Patch, and this is is covered in debris netting, and they'll do for soup in January, as they all look 'orrible, but they already have the bulk we'll need then!

[BumbleJo]

i grow mine in dustbins now, not a massive crop but enough baby carrots to keep us through late summer autumn and early winter (before hard frost). no fly for a few years now

That's the way we're growing them from now on, Up!

Four plastic buckets with holes drilled through their bottoms have produced some huge carrots when sown in compost, and in strict succession!

We still have a bed of ordinary carrots down at The Patch, and this is is covered in debris netting, and they'll do for soup in January, as they all look 'orrible, but they already have the bulk we'll need then!

  So presume bucket grown ones taste good also?  Tried some of mine grown under the netting since I first posted and they were pretty tasteless!  Amsterdam forcing and Autumn King.  Seeds were pretty old but that shouldn't make a difference if they grew anyway should it?  Very disappointed after big spend on netting...

[Growster...]

They taste just fine, Bumblejo, and also retain some uniformity as well, so they just look nice!

Also, watering is a doddle, as they're all in deep plastic trays, so the tap root just goes straight down!

[Anton]

I grew early carrots this year when come up about three weeks earlier than the other ones. I started off covering them with fleece but they became overwhelmed with weeds, so I pulled it off weeded and then left the fleece off. I didn't bother thinning them off, as the slugs seem to do that for me. I had some lovely carrots for about a month or two, almost umblemished but as the season wore on the dreaded carrot fly did its dirty deeds. At that point its a bit of a nuisance cutting out parts, ... but there will still a decent amount to eat. And the taste was so delicious.

Anton

[4 Seasons]

I always leave the mesh on until we have had a sharp couple of frost which should kill any flying insects. It seems to work well as I don't have a problem after that.

[digger1]

Instead of covering the carrots I have mesh at a height of 75cm placed around the bed this has worked for the last 4yrs and no carrot fly