Topic: Autumn King and Carrot fly

[misterroy]

how do you keep weeds at bay when you broadcast the seed, are you broadcasting over an area you can straddle? I can hardly keep my rows weed free-ish.

[tonybloke]

for a weed free bed, try this. rake level and firm  the bed about 21 days before you need the land for carrots, after 14 days most of the annual weeds will have germinated. cover with light-excluding fabric for 7 days, this will kill all the weeds. don't disturb soil again!
to sow carrots, don't 'draw' a drill with a hoe, just lay a broomhandle on the surface of land, press in firmly, water just the bottom of the depression thus formed, sow seed sparingly, backfill wih seived compost and firm in. water after 3 days with a fine rose if it ain't rained. ;)

[Wicker]

how do you keep weeds at bay when you broadcast the seed, are you broadcasting over an area you can straddle? I can hardly keep my rows weed free-ish.

We have our plot divided into beds which are approx 5' wide so that we can reach the middle from the path on either side without too much stretching (sure sign of age!!).  Dividing the plot into permanent beds was the best thing we ever did for all crops, much easier to manage and not so discouraging

[gardentg44]

Bromophos?
that used to work,can anyone tell me why it no longer available?
also Colomel dust.
you dont see many carrot fly in the farmers fields

[tonybloke]

a lot of the organic growers use fleece on a field scale. those who spray, think of this.... there is no discernable skin on a carrot, any pesticides used on the crop can not be removed by washing or peeling (like most other fruit and veg which does have a discernable skin) ;)