[Becky-Lou]

Hi all, hope you've been out on the plot enjoying the sun today!

I'm about to sow my first carrots of the year and I need to fleece them with something, since companion planting did not save my lovely carrots from the dreaded fly last year.  However, I'm feeling quite poor at the mo, and I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for cheap/ upcycled alternatives to enviromesh?
 Any thoughts welcome!

[compostqueen]

Net curtains from the charity shop. You can get the plain woven nets, you know without the intricate holey patterns 

[Mark's Sussex Allotment]

Debris netting from an scaffolding company for free?

Not 100% sure if it definately keeps them out, but it should....

[Steveharford]

I'm really glad you raised this question as I was wondering the same, having been to a small garden centre today where it was £12.99 for a piece 6m x 2m. We then moved on to a large garden centre where the same thing was £16.99 ! Neither did any smaller sizes. Having already spent enough on strawberry plants, herbs, pots, blood fish and bone and a couple of wolf tool attachments I decided I couldn't justify that amount on a couple of rows of carrots. So thanks for the tip about the net. I was wondering if normal frost protection fleece would do. Haven't got a clue how small these flies are.

[Mark's Sussex Allotment]

You can  get normal fleece in the pound shop now, too.

[mumofstig]

this old thread discusses it
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=37434.msg446790#msg446790

[Steveharford]

Thanks for that mum.they are bigger than I thought.

[GrannieAnnie]

For my carrots I buy the cheap fleece from poundland until the carrots are a couple of inches high, then I make a frame around them with debris netting.  The one I use is cut to around 4ft high.  Last year I only had a small area, but this year it will be bigger.