Carrot idea

[Dorothy rouse]

Just had a thought, the carrot fly is a 'low flying fly' I believe, so if I planted carrots in bags on my top balcony, which is 4 floors up (town house), would that defeat them?

Thanks

DottyR

[veggiechicken]

Only one way to find out Dotty

[Bigmallly]

They do say that carrot fly only flies about 2/3 foot high so you should be ok Dotty..............only thing is, I don't know who "they" are.................

[Potstubsdustbins]

IMHO it's a bit of a myth.

If we think about it a thing as small as a carrot fly will be blown by the wind to a certain degree and therefore will not be limited to low level sorties.

Potty

[Ananke]

I think 4 floors up is probably safe(ish) but I've often wondered, if I have a 4ft barrier and they only fly to 3ft, couldn't they just walk the rest?

I've never been successful with carrots outside, even in dustbins, best I've had were in compost bags in the greenhouse.

[Chippy Minton]

As VC says there's one way to find out and you could prove 'them' wrong! Could be like an episode of MythBusters

However I reckon they can climb, or hitch a lift on the back of a cabbage white. They can scale the tallest building, leap over barriers in a single bound, we'll never stop them.......

Sorry, the dark days are getting to me....

[Dorothy rouse]

Ahh, thanks, 'roof top carrots', I like the idea of them hitching a lift on a cabbage white, and have never seen any of them, up there, climbing carrot fly, mmm. I'll think about it. I'd have to lug a bag of compost up 4 lots of stairs.

[binley100]

you could try this
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...hem_49211.html

[Aberdeenplotter]

Low flying carrot fly is a myth and anyway, they can be carried upwards in thermals and by the wind. As an exhibition vegetable grower, I grow long carrots in 4ft high barrels and if not covered with fleece, the carrot fly simply ruins the roots. If you do decide to try growing them on high, still cover them with fleece or environmesh

[Bren In Pots]

We've got 5ft brick walls around our garden and still get damage unless I use fleece so I agree with the others that the low flying thing is a myth.
Give it a go on your balcony all you have to lose is time and some seeds and you never know you might end up with a bumper crop.

[Bill HH]

Just had a thought, the carrot fly is a 'low flying fly' I believe, so if I planted carrots in bags on my top balcony, which is 4 floors up (town house), would that defeat them?

Thanks

DottyR

Sounds like a good plan unless they use the lift!

[Dorothy rouse]

No lift Bill, unless on the back of a cabbage white!

[Penellype]

I find this very odd - I've had staggeringly good results with barriers. In the days when I had a big garden I planted 2 whole packets of seed in the open ground and didn't get a single edible carrot, even though one of the packets was "Flyaway". The following year I erected a very makeshift plastic barrier made from polythene sheet and bamboo canes, without a top and about 2 ft high. I had no fly damage. I continued to use this method for several years very successfully until I moved house.

At my current house I grew beautiful carrots in an old water butt, leaving the top of the soil about 8 inches below the rim and changing the soil each year. After 4 years without a single maggot I decided to increase my carrot crop by planting in an 18 inch square pot, but left only an inch of rim above the soil. Most of the carrots were badly damaged by carrot fly. The pot was a couple of feet along the garden from the undamaged carrots in the water butt.

I think the important thing is to protect the crown of the plant with a barrier, rather than just lift the whole plant upwards.

[Bill HH]

I grew carrots last year without problems but you lot have put the wind up me so I am going to use a mesh tunnel. My question is do you cover them from planting day and do you keep the cover on throughout till harvest?

[Penellype]

I like to protect mine from the start.