What does carrot fly eat?

[marchogaeth]

I know the list of garden plants but what wild plants do they live on? My reason for asking is that we are on a very exposed site and at least half a mile from the nearest semblance of a garden and am wondering what my chance of infestation is if I don't net but do try to plant outside their peak season.

Will this warm weather mean that they start their first cycle now and that I need to plan sowings accordingly? eg probably not sow until May.
Ref the calandar here Factsheet about Carrot fly

Is there a way of telling if they are on the move?

Thanks in advance.

[PAULW]

Dont think they eat anything like Mayfly's and Dragonflies they spend a long time as a larva then a short time mating and laying eggs before dying

[scarletrunner]

There is only one surefire method that works,Envoironmesh.
70cm.barriers do not work,unless top is covered also,carrot fly can,and will,fly as high as they wish if the air is still/calm.

[scarletrunner]

Also just to add,the resistant type are not a total success story + taste is inferior.

[marchogaeth]

Dont think they eat anything like Mayfly's and Dragonflies they spend a long time as a larva then a short time mating and laying eggs before dying

Thanks, that's really helpful.

scarletrunner
There is only one surefire method that works,Envoironmesh.
70cm.barriers do not work,unless top is covered also,carrot fly can,and will,fly as high as they wish if the air is still/calm

Thanks, I understand this and respect your experience, my aunt in the Midlands would say exactly the same.

I will go the way of mesh if I have to but I'd like to understand the beast I'm dealing with. I still come back to how isolated I am from other gardens and whether it's likely to be around in my soil already from wild plant hosts.

[SarzWix]

I think there are wild flower hosts too. Might be Queen Anne's Lace? Something with an umbelifer type of flower anyway. They also take a fancy to parsnips sometimes too.
I guess it depends how much you're relying on the crop, whether to risk not-netting them? If they're a vital part of your self-sufficiency plan, then I'd say net or fleece them to be sure

[marchogaeth]

I think there are wild flower hosts too. Might be Queen Anne's Lace? Something with an umbelifer type of flower anyway. They also take a fancy to parsnips sometimes too.
I guess it depends how much you're relying on the crop, whether to risk not-netting them? If they're a vital part of your self-sufficiency plan, then I'd say net or fleece them to be sure

Thanks. Our farm is organic, with wide headlands and umbilifers are prolific (including one I think is called Wild Parsnip! Which is why I asked in the first place). So, I think I'll try some with the fleece and some based on the calendar at each sowing. I'm going to assume that the flies might be a little early this year.

(The OH says the garden's meant to be a hobby but I hate the thought of putting in all the effort for no crop at all.)

[Snadger]

After a trolling google I found this article quite interesting. Celery,chervil,caraway and parsnip get a mention but to be honest I got bored after a while and stopped reading..............

I may finish reading it at a later date though............

http://www.thomas-degen.ch/portrait/...omas_Degen.pdf

[Aberdeenplotter]

Why don't you grow some under fleece or mesh and some in the open. That way you will find out if it's possible to grow in the open without risk of infestation.

[marchogaeth]

Why don't you grow some under fleece or mesh and some in the open. That way you will find out if it's possible to grow in the open without risk of infestation.

I thought that was what I'd said. Sorry if not clear:-

Post number 7.

So, I think I'll try some with the fleece and some based on the calendar at each sowing. I'm going to assume that the flies might be a little early this year

[marchogaeth]

After a trolling google I found this article quite interesting. Celery,chervil,caraway and parsnip get a mention but to be honest I got bored after a while and stopped reading..............

What an enormous article! Looks horribly like something I left lying around, unfinished many years ago, although perhaps slightly more useful. I have saved it for a rainy day. It is the wild hosts I'm interested in. In the meantime I have purchased some veggiemeash for my own "experiment."

[SarrissUK]

There's loads of carrot fly up at our allotment and it's not surprising I guess - everyone grows them up there, so it must be like a massive feast for the little blighters!

I'm going plastic covers and enviromesh this year. Unfortunately there's no poundland anywhere near me that sells such stuff, but it's reasonably cheap straight from the enviromesh website, so that'll be my next stop. It was so disheartening have every single carrot last year munched :/

[Snadger]

My lotties on quite a windy site which is supposed to deter them but i think the sneaky little blighters just wait for a calm day and fly in in there droves (cue mindeye picture of dambusters.......Tally ho!)

Covering with enviromesh is the only way I can grow carrots

[marchogaeth]

There's loads of carrot fly up at our allotment and it's not surprising I guess - everyone grows them up there, so it must be like a massive feast for the little blighters!

I'm going plastic covers and enviromesh this year. Unfortunately there's no poundland anywhere near me that sells such stuff, but it's reasonably cheap straight from the enviromesh website, so that'll be my next stop. It was so disheartening have every single carrot last year munched :/

Check out Gardening Naturally - site above, they have stopped doing Enviromesh to produce their own (cheaper) Veggie Mesh.