root fly resistant carrots - My Ar*e

[kernowyon]

as an experiment this year I grew two short rows of carrots outside the enviromesh that i normally grow them under. 1 row of Rainbow from T&M and 1 row of Flyaway (supposedly carrot root fly resistant)

guess which one was ravaged by root fly and which ones were not?

anyone else had as much success with the resistant varieties?

[baggyman]

All my carrots got the fly, ordinary and supposedly resistant.
Next year I'm gonna grow a resistant variety, grow them in a high raised bed (30" plus) and cover them with enviomesh.
If that don't work I'll give up and buy 'em from Sainsburys.

[zazen999]

Nope; I also grow lots of yellow and purple carrots because I found they were more resistant; probably due to them smelling less like carrots than the orange ones.

I still stand by my coriander method; grow them together and chop the coriander back every time you visit or pull a carrot and sprinkle the choppings around; the smell does deter the flies.

I've so far had only 2 slightly carrot flied, both orange ones [the OH's daughter won't eat the yellow ones], and all the others have been 100% ok.

[lynda66]

i've got flyaway carrots, and they are fine ....... but then so are all my other carrot varieties too, ...... touch wood, it doesn't look like we have carrot flies round here

[HayleyB]

I've got Flyaway but they're in one of those big lug bucket thingys about two foot high by two foot, haven't tried pulling any yet though as I can't see carrot tops although the greenery looks very healthy but then again I don't really know when I should start pulling them anyway

[maytreefrannie]

I grew carrots in bins this year - this was to outwit the carrot fly, which I hear can only fly to a height of 21 inches. In a year when most things did badly because of too much rain, the carrots all did well and no sign of fly.

I think they did well because I'd mixed sand with the compost. There's a belief that carrots grow well in sand - not sure if it's true but I think it assisted drainage this summer.

[Geordie]

like maytreefrannie I grew mine well off the ground in an upside down dalek type compost bin, filled with a mix of sand and multipurpose compost. Had some excellent specimins

[Two_Sheds]

Flyaway carrots

As an experiment, I grew 2 rows of Flyaway carrots in the open - no protection at all, no onion/coriander as a cover, nothing. They weren't near my main bed of carrots either.

Result: pretty good. There was a tiny bit of fly damage to the tip of the roots (you might see a blackened bit in the picture if you peer closely).

Flavour: not so special. I would rather grow better-tasting carrots (like Adelaide, Purple Haze) under my net curtains.

[Protea]

Hmm, thats interesting that you got damage on the flyaway with a non-resistant variety next to it - this is supposed to be the way to ensure the resistant ones are unnafected! My company bred the flyaway and resistafly carrots so will ask the breeder about it.

To be honest they're not the best tasting variety, i guess because of the trade off with the resistancegenes - you can only do so much!

Enviromesh or growing them 2ft off the ground is the best way to ensure no damage really. I didn't get round to building my raised carrot bed this year so didn't grow any but when i do it will be filled with a mixture of sand (60-70%) and top soil (not compost). Carrots grown in sandy soil grow straighter and longer, so the deeper the container the longer the carrots (within reason!) just look at the cmpetition guys who grow them in pure sand in drainpipes!

[Megans-mum]

i've got flyaway carrots, and they are fine ....... but then so are all my other carrot varieties too, ...... touch wood, it doesn't look like we have carrot flies round here

I hope your right about us near mancheseter not having carrott fly. Iam going to attempt to grow some over the winter. I bought carrott fly resistant and Nantes furbrund. I know i will have to wait til spring to see if we do or dont suffer from it up here. Fingers toes etc crossed. That has really spurred me on . Tomorrow is planting my potatoes in my barrell as ive already chitted them. Then onto carrott planting in tubs. Wish me luck everyone keep all your fingers etc crossed. cheers judith.

[Megans-mum]

Hmm, thats interesting that you got damage on the flyaway with a non-resistant variety next to it - this is supposed to be the way to ensure the resistant ones are unnafected! My company bred the flyaway and resistafly carrots so will ask the breeder about it.

To be honest they're not the best tasting variety, i guess because of the trade off with the resistancegenes - you can only do so much!

Enviromesh or growing them 2ft off the ground is the best way to ensure no damage really. I didn't get round to building my raised carrot bed this year so didn't grow any but when i do it will be filled with a mixture of sand (60-70%) and top soil (not compost). Carrots grown in sandy soil grow straighter and longer, so the deeper the container the longer the carrots (within reason!) just look at the cmpetition guys who grow them in pure sand in drainpipes!

Please can you explain the drain pipe theory im very curious. Regards judith.

[Demeter]

Please can you explain the drain pipe theory im very curious. Regards judith.

As I understand it, the idea is that if you grow a carrot in a pipe, you will get a very long, straight root. It's grown in sand partly to make sure that there is nothing to stop the root from growing straight down and partly because sand is very free draining which encourages the root to grow good and long in order to see out the water at the bottom. Something for the old boys who are vying for top prize in the veg shows

[Two_Sheds]

Iam going to attempt to grow some over the winter.

well good luck, you'll need it.
Nothing grows over winter. Veg that is established (planted in late summer) will survive the winter, but active growth will only occur when the days get longer and warmer again.