Help!!

[new2veg]

Hi everyone,

I'm fairly new to growing my own veggies & had some good crops this year, especially peas, onion & garlic but I've come across a problem with my carrots. I've lost almost half of my carrots this year to what I think are slugs. I've managed to pick loads of the little sods off the the beds but have found much more damage to the carrots done below surface. when I've pulled them something has taken big chunks out of them making them almost unusable apart from making soup! Can anyone suggest what's munching its way through them & if there is something I can dig into the bed before sowing next year.

Cheers,

[Shortie]

Hi new2veg and welcome to the vine

Sorry to hear about your carrots, but at least everything else seems to have gone well?

Is it possibly carrot fly? They do damage below the surface, but I've been lucky enough never to have been effected by them so can't describe what they're like or what their damage looks like...?

[Snadger]

My carrots suffered from carrot fly and the first signs are the foliage takes on a yellowish tinge...on digging the crop their were dark lesions and channels where the grub had attacked them. If the growing tip is eaten off the carrot usually dies. Never had problems with 'chunks' missing but I know keel slugs attack potatoes and take chunks out!

[Snadger]

Forgot to mention...protection from carrot fly can be afforded by using horticultural fleece or a fine net over them. An isecticide can be used on the soil prior to seeding (not sure whether you can still get Chlorophos or not) which will protect against soil borne pests and of course slug pellets can be applied. Appaently putting a 'screen' around them 2'0" high will stop carrot fly invasion as they fly at a lower level. If this all fails their are carrot fly resistant breeds as well!

[Sally Clarke]

Hi New2veg
I started growing last spring and suffed badly eaten carrots last year, but have dug up my carrots today and this years are much better, I was told its the smell that atracts the flys and to try not to touch the foliage if atall poss, and to thin out as late in the day as you can manage. I followed these rules this year and much better results.

[sewer rat]

Are the carrots laced with small tunnels on the surface or are the chunks big and irregular - if it's the latter, then I'm afraid it's slugs - you can remove all you want from the surface, but the little beggars live underground too !

[new2veg]

Thanks all......

Thanks everyone fo your advice & suggestions, no problems with the foliage turning yellow so I think its the slugs, is there an organic pellet on the market that I can use or will I have to give up some of my beer ration

PS will use fleece next year, no point in getting rid of slugs only to attract carrot fly!!

[Nicos]

It sounds like slugs or snails to me too. Perhaps you could encourage frogs and toads and hegehogs onto your plot to eat them?? Either that or blast them with nematodes in the spring. Do be aware that slugs also like the warmer/damper environment of life under fleece!
New location as part of the rotation next year may well sort out the problem of course. May be worth bearing them in mind for next years crops on that site??

[dexterdoglancashire]

Hi N2V - I tried all the following earlier in the year - beer in a jar sunk in the ground (so if they, and when they did, they died happy!), half a cut grapefruit, open side down on the ground and also lots of salt sprinkled around my veg. It did work quite well! good luck dexterdog

[Slug]

Hi N2V,

I had a terrible year with my carrots (i.e. none germinated from 2 sowings!!), but I did read up on the care of them to try to avoid carrot fly.... what it said was that you should try to sow them thinly so that you avoid too much thinning of the carrots later in the year. Also, you should look to pile the earth up around the remaining carrots whenever you pull some for eating.

I believe marigolds help as the carrot fly can't smell the carrots as well with the marigolds nearby.

One other thing... I agree with dexterdog about the beer traps - mine trap so many slugs - only problem is you need to keep on top of the traps so that you don't end up with a slimy sluggy mess and obviously put in fresh beer to attract more!

Good luck...

[roitelet]

Hi New 2 veg,

Have a look at the thread I started Inch by inch in the tips bit. It may help with the carrot fly but not with the slugs. I would try the advice of nematodes and crop rotation to help solve that problem.