Plot planning - carrot root fly and grouping veg

[Black Wolf]

Evening

I'm currently trying to plan the planting of my plot. I've now listed out all the seeds I have, sowing times etc so I have half a chance of knowing what's going on!!

However, when planning what I'm growing with what, I just need to check something!! I had carrot root fly last year so will use netting this year. Other veg I also need to protect against this is parsnip but for some reason I have in my head I need to protect beetroot from it too - do I?? What about swede?

Apart from that, all brassicas together so I can net them, apparently nasturtiums are good for repelling cabbage white so will try this too. Onion family together, salad stuff together and squashes together, I *think* i may have a plan forming!!

Any advice would be greatly received!! Thanks

[AllInContainers]

Plant some onions in with the carrots and some sage in with the brassicas too. They'll both help with dissuading the nasties

[Vince G]

Whitefly don't like French marigold either.

Invest in a length of enviromesh and some hoops for your carrots. Never found parsnips get affected, but I read it occasionally happens.

[chris]

I've not found planting onions with carrots helpful. Perhaps in a sea of onions and maybe a short row you'd get away with it.. The only thing is netting as you say.

I've not had any root fly damage on my parsnips either. You'll need to net your brassicas to keep cabbage whites off them, and then later pigeons. Perhaps soft fruit against birds too, but to be honest I don't really get that much bird damage... they go for my blue berries (a particular blackbird), but I don't really mind as I'm fortunate in the fact that blueberries are the 1 crop I seem to be able to grow well

The sooner you accept that if you grow without pesticides, and chemicals you'll share some of your crop with pests the better.. It is frustrating at the start when you're just getting going - I think the key is succession sowing too (every week for salad crops, every two weeks for other seems about right for me - parsnips I don't bother with sowing more than 1 unless the original sowing fails as I'd rather them ready at the same time because they take so long to grow)... but that's just me.

[Black Wolf]

Cool thanks guys I have a lot of butterfly and insect netting so hopefully the plot will be like fort knox to the small creatures wanting to eat things!! Need to sort out beer traps too....

So swede and beetroot are unaffected? Cool, will get that in my plot plans

So English Marigolds won't repel whitefly like French ones?

[Nicos]

We use fleece over our carrots all the time to keep the blighters out!

Also spring onions, a few onions dotted about the place and chives all near or amongst the carrots.
The combination certainly works...plus sowing early maturing carrots.
(I tend to buy pots of chives from the supermarket and split it into 5 to plant outside)

I found swede and beetroot were prone to flea beetle- so they too would benefit from covering if you find you have had problems with them in the past ( little holes in the leaves)

[Black Wolf]

I haven't had issues with flea beetle yet but I was a bit surprised by the carrot root fly so maybe best to try and prevent. Flea beetle will need the fine insect netting yeah?

Btw - this is my first full year, so all a bit of guess work etc but trying to have a successful year lol

Wonder if there's owt I should pair with sweet potato (don't eat normal tatties) - Google, here I come!!

[Ceres]

I'm going to try carrots in potato sacks this year as I heard carrot root fly is a lower flier so am hoping being a bit higher will confuse them! Also lots of alliums dotted around close by.

[Dorothy rouse]

I'm going to try carrots in potato sacks this year as I heard carrot root fly is a lower flier so am hoping being a bit higher will confuse them! Also lots of alliums dotted around close by.

We had a 'Thread' on this last week, when I asked the question, if I planted carrots 4 floors up on my balcony would they be safe from carrot fly, as I also thought it was a 'low-flying' insect, apparently that is a myth, so I'm not going to try.

Look for previous comments, was useful info.

[Black Wolf]

ARGH! Just been for a physio session (recently had hip surgery) and been told no digging for 3 months!!! This may make things a challenge!!! Rats!!

[Dorothy rouse]

ARGH! Just been for a physio session (recently had hip surgery) and been told no digging for 3 months!!! This may make things a challenge!!! Rats!!

Oh dear, maybe plant things in pots to begin with, 3 months takes us to April? Warmer weather hopefully, you'll be a bit more mobile by then.

[Two_Sheds]

I have a lot of butterfly and insect netting

I don't know how small the holes in your netting are ... but it wants to be enviromesh standard, and pegged down ALL the way round. Any tiny gap and the fly will get in

[Black Wolf]

I'm thinking pots might be an idea, most things will be brought on in seed trays etc anyways (squash and such like) so surely sitting in a pot for a bit after that isn't going to kill it! The stuff that I have to dig (that I've not touched at all yet) is under weed control sheeting so the weeds are dead, it's just getting the couch grass roots out and getting it turned over for the first time in years (old field, new allotment site). The other bit has either been turned over or currently has swede etc in it so that's not so bad, hopefully my minion (boyfriend) will do a little digging for me there

Roll on slightly less wet weather lol!!

[Black Wolf]

I don't know how small the holes in your netting are ... but it wants to be enviromesh standard, and pegged down ALL the way round. Any tiny gap and the fly will get in

It's very fine netting so should keep them out. That reminds me - needs pegs!! Ebay!!

[Two_Sheds]

So swede and beetroot are unaffected?

Sparrows will strip the leaves off early beetroots unless you net them, and swede, being a brassica, is susceptible to cabbage root fly

I know, there's always something eating your plants. That's why it's called 'food'