[mumofstig]

Or buy/cadge some fine net curtains (voile) which work just as well 

[Stevens706]

I just use fleece, works fine and is cheeper than enviromesh

[DD.]

But not so durable.

[Ivor Backache]

But not so durable.

I buy end of rolls for £5 which gives about 4 lengths across the allotment which is plenty for carrots. It tears very easily and although it is possible to stitch up it can rarely be used for a second year. I relocate it over the brassicas to keep off the pigeons, and then it is binned.
I made frames of 4" planking and fixed hoops to it and then put the netting over the whole thing. Worked very well, but I didn't have enough planking so I made frames without it, but the folliage pushed the net off the ground and and I got the fly.
I transplant carrot from metre lengths of guttering. I thin out the seedlings before hand.

This year I am going to experiment with filling part of the 4" planked enclosure with sawdust to act as a mulch. It will inhibit weeds and therefore less interference. If the eggs were laid and the grubs hatched out would they get to carrot?  Has to be worth a try. Same principle as putting mats around brassica stems to keep off the cabbage root fly.

[DD.]

Query- how can you say it worked very well, if you got the fly?

[Rampant_Weasel]

But not so durable.

I buy end of rolls for £5 which gives about 4 lengths across the allotment which is plenty for carrots. It tears very easily and although it is possible to stitch up it can rarely be used for a second year. I relocate it over the brassicas to keep off the pigeons, and then it is binned.
I made frames of 4" planking and fixed hoops to it and then put the netting over the whole thing. Worked very well, but I didn't have enough planking so I made frames without it, but the folliage pushed the net off the ground and and I got the fly.
I transplant carrot from metre lengths of guttering. I thin out the seedlings before hand.

This year I am going to experiment with filling part of the 4" planked enclosure with sawdust to act as a mulch. It will inhibit weeds and therefore less interference. If the eggs were laid and the grubs hatched out would they get to carrot?  Has to be worth a try. Same principle as putting mats around brassica stems to keep off the cabbage root fly.

surely the cost of the planking,hoops and fleece etc outweighs the cost of enviromesh?
i think a roll of enviromesh is around £17 so u would have your money back in 4 years just on the cost of end rolls of fleece alone.
i used enviromesh for the first time last year and was so disillusioned with carrot fly i thought it would fail anyway.but it didnt - it does exactly what its supposed to do and is very strong, worth every penny.

[DD.]

I didn't want to say that RW!

[VirginVegGrower]

Yorkie offers good advice on carrots. I am trying 3' high raised bed with sage plants as you have to have four rows of onions to one row of carrots for it to be effective apparently.
Girlie suggested enviromesh.

[Ivor Backache]

Query- how can you say it worked very well, if you got the fly?

Net with planks were OK. Net without planks got the fly.

surely the cost of the planking,hoops and fleece etc outweighs the cost of enviromesh?
[/quote]

No. They came from the re-cycling bins.

Don't get me wrong-environmesh is the best, but £17 a roll? It needs to be 20' long by 4' wide and I think it costs more than that. I'll stand corrected.

[DD.]

That's 6m x 1.2m near enough.

You can get a piece 6m x 1.8 m from here for £14.40

http://www.gardening-naturally.com/acatalog/Enviromesh.html

Lasting 10 years, that £1.44 a year. Not too extortionate, really.

[Ivor Backache]

Fair enough. Actually 4' is not wide enough for a double row...needs 6' and if you don't have a skirting board system you need another 6" each side to tuck in the soil. I make 6' frames and just lift them off to weed. My 3 double rows would cost over £50.

[DD.]

As with most things, doubling area does not necessarily mean doubling the price as it's available in different widths.

I can cover 3 rows of carrots and one row of parsnips over 30' long for just over £28. Less than £3 a year - think I can afford that.

[rowlandwells]

i am still pondering if to buy some enviromesh there's a lot in favor of using mesh as an alternative to chemicals and yes your rite the stuff used by commercial growers is not available to home growers 

what did we do before enviromesh was invented i think some gardeners used a seed dressing when sowing Murphy's rings a bell but i think that's long gone we've been buying fresh carrots for some time now but home grown is i admit a better tasting carrot 

[Rampant_Weasel]

some of the old farmers round here have said they used to put a really fine rose on a watering can and water the carrot rows with paraffin.
harry dodson ( of victorian kitchen garden fame) says in his book that they used to put paraffin in a bucket of sand and scatter the sand around the carrot seedlings.
presumably (like interplanting with onions) its all designed to hide the smell of carrots buts its still a hit and miss affair.
if you buy some enviromesh and decide you dont want it, i think you will find many willing buyers on this forum

just on a side note - did paraffin used to be a cheap product because no end of old plant treatments and insecticides seem to contain it!

[Yorkie]

if you buy some enviromesh and decide you dont want it, i think you will find many willing buyers on this forum

shortly before getting yourself banned for selling on the forum