[Steve.B]

Hi All,

Never done it this way but thinking about the FLY when thinning out.
If I were to do them in cells and plant them out spaced and not needing
thinning would this work? Normally I sow in the ground and thin but last year
we had a lot of FLY damage. Just a thought.

[penance]

Personally i wouldnt bother.
Carrots really dont like transplaint, you 'may' get away with it in modules, i dont know.

I take time when sowing carrot seed and dont do any thinning, the fly still gets at them tho.

[DD.]

Agree with penance about transplanting carrots.

Only way is to protect them.

[zazen999]

Don't thin then!

Sow in blocks and pop enviromesh over them. Weight down around all edges. Weed once or twice. Job done.

[JayG]

Yes, way too much work and won't have the desired effect.

I have successfully grown carrots uncovered for the last few years in a 3 foot high chimney pot (not still attached to the roof!) which have remained fly free. If you are thinking that is not many carrots you are right, but the principle does work, otherwise it's careful covering (or just trusting to luck; bad idea!)

[bigben]

I have started 60 parsnips in loo rolls partly because they are so slow to germinate when planted direct and doing it this way means I know I should get at least 60 fully grown parsnips later in the year. When I plant them out I alternate with some sown direct.

A couple of decent size parsnips will do us with a roast but I could not imagine doing it in the quantities needed for to get a decent crop of carrots. Protect or sown more and resign yourself to losing some.

[DD.]

Whatever way you do them, the key is protection.

I do 3 rows of 32 feet. Slap enviromesh over them and lift it for hoeing. I lifted one carrot yesterday that will do 3 of us for 2 days.

[peapod]

Pic please 

[plum crumble]

yeah DD, we wantr proof of such claims!!!!

[Steve.B]

Whatever way you do them, the key is protection.

I do 3 rows of 32 feet. Slap enviromesh over them and lift it for hoeing. I lifted one carrot yesterday that will do 3 of us for 2 days.

Love to see it, or do you dish out small portions?

Well shoots me down in flames! Too much hard work, agreed.
......but I only do a few, 100 ish so might try and see, in paper pots so not disturbing the seedlings?

[zazen999]

  Love to see it, or do you dish out small portions?

Well shoots me down in flames! Too much hard work, agreed.
......but I only do a few, 100 ish so might try and see, in paper pots so not disturbing the seedlings?

Steve - the problem with sowing carrots in modules is they throw a tap root down pretty much within days of germinating. By the time you have realised it, it's too late and the tap root, which becomes the carrot, is bent broken or starts to grow sideways; and no amount of careful transplanting can really solve that.

[Steve.B]

  Love to see it, or do you dish out small portions?

Well shoots me down in flames! Too much hard work, agreed.
......but I only do a few, 100 ish so might try and see, in paper pots so not disturbing the seedlings?

Steve - the problem with sowing carrots in modules is they throw a tap root down pretty much within days of germinating. By the time you have realised it, it's too late and the tap root, which becomes the carrot, is bent broken or starts to grow sideways; and no amount of careful transplanting can really solve that.

Thanks!

[Ivor Backache]

Whereas I agree in general with everything that has been said, I am sowing carrots in 4'' steep sided guttering. This is because I can only get to my allotmant about twice a week and had major problems last year with germination, due to the dry conditions. As soon as they have germinated I will flush them into a trench (and hope for the best?)

[mashauk]

I grow my prize winners (not that I'm boasting!) in baths raised on bricks, I'm not sure if it's true that carrot fly don't um fly very high but it seems to work for us, without protecting them, we actually grow them in baths because our ground is too stony otherwise so we sieve the soil first.

[noshed]

Some people use deep polystyrene fish boxes