carrot fly question

When is it considered safe to uncover carrots, I would like to weed the patch but dont want to let the dreaded carrot fly in. I've read there is a safe time ,am I right its about now till August.

Thanks WG , I'll be covering them up asap after weeding and any thinning required,they took so long to germinate , I dont want to lose any and the rabbits are still visiting us .Our carrot patch is 75' by 6' so quite a lot to do , luckily weeds are nt too bad .


This pic taken back in April, sowed the seed in sand in drills ,as we have clay soil and it can form a hard crust, also helps to mark the rows, but needs watering in dry spells.

My garden is not very big, and Im surrounded by very high fences, but I thin carrots in the evening and put very thin, small bits of garlic by the rows when Ive finished. Or you could water with a garlic solution.

I have also earthed up around the necks....all seems well so far  

I mentioned this on another thread back in Feb I think.

I am obviously not a carrot grower on scale of corndolly!!

However, this is our carrot barrier.

The area is 4 feet by 4 feet, enclosed with corrugated plastic sheets which are supported by pairs of canes. Construction is 2 foot 6 inches high (the width of the plastic sheets).

Sowing is in mid-March ... 8 rows squeezed in ...  moderately thick sowing.

Variety in our case is Autumn King.  We start using thinnings in salads from the end of May usually. Picture was taken yesterday (16th June).

Foliage gets to be a bit drawn but it does not appear to affect the quality of the carrots.

Importantly, the construction keeps the carrot fly at bay. We have been using this technique successfully for around 15 years.