Carrots - an alternative to "high rise" raised beds

[BAK]

One alternative approach to beating the carrot fly.

area is 4 feet by 4 feet, enclosed with corrugated plastic sheets which are supported by pairs of canes. Construction is 2 foot 6 inches high (the width of the plastic sheets).

Sowing is in mid-March ... 8 rows squeezed in ...  moderately thick sowing.

Variety in this case is Autumn King.  Start using thinnings in salads from the end of May usually. Picture was taken today (16th June).

Foliage gets to be a bit drawn but it does not appear to affect the quality of the carrots.

Importantly, the construction keeps the carrot fly at bay.

[BAK]

[asbean]

Now that IS a good idea  :) :)

[saddad]

We grow AK in an old cold frame filled with home produced compost...
Have some Samurai and Golden Sweet in as well...
;D

[Emagggie]

Hmmm, another one for me to try ;D I'll get the bloomin' things to grow yet....... ;)

[Jeannine]

Me too in an old cold frame XX

[cornykev]

I've inter planted mine with onions, but when I thinned some today there was tiny white looking eggs I seem to remember having these last year but didn't have a clue then, are these the dreaded carrot fly eggs and what can I do about them . :(    ;D ;D ;D

[theamatteurgardener]

Pardon my ignorance, but how does the construction keep the carrot fly off? Can they only fly low? Cheers!

[Jeannine]

Yep, difference of opinion as to just how high but 15-18 inches is about  what most of us think

[lorna]

I didn't know anything about carrot fly I built my beds to save my back ;D So hopefully they will serve 2 purposes.

[tomatoada]

Where can you buy the corrugated sheeting?   How big is it please?

[asbean]

I got mine from B&Q, they are quite pricey and I use them in the winter as tunnels for the winter salads.  But this is a good use for them in the summer  :) :)

[telboy]

Well done BAK!
Another good idea.

[BAK]

Tomatoada,

they are simply bog standard pieces of corrugated plastic that can be obtained in lots of places. Mine came from Focus Do It All.

Size are 4 feet by 2 feet 6 inches although they come in various sizes.

As per Asbean, I also use them as cloches (folded into semi-circular shape and held in place with link stakes.

My last set lasted about 15 years (or so).

[newbies]

I put my carrots in black buckets this year, and they started off well enough.  I did this because I have a new plot, and not yet done a bed for carrots.  Some b*****d critters have eaten the lot, slugs I suppose.  Now I'll have to start again.  Do carrot fly eat the foliage, or will this be our slippery friends? ???

[BAK]

It will probably be your slippery friends.

Carrot fly simply lays its eggs at the base of the plant. Maggots, when they hatch, burrow down and eat the root.

[newbies]

How about if I do a high bed, the buckets are only a foot tall.  Then, if the slugs do get in through the bottom of the bed, they will have to climb for ages to get to the seedlings.  Last year, I had carrots in an old plastic compost bin, and hardly a problem.. I put broken pots in the bottom, to save on compost, maybe they got lost in all the crockery, and never made it any further?  Hmm..I feel a plan coming on...
So, I need a big tub or bucket, that then I can put drainage holes in, crockery in the bottom, and start my carrots again.  This will theoretically deter both slugs and carrot fly.  Seems like a plan, opinions please!!

[telboy]

Newbies,
Could your problem be pidgeons?

[tomatoada]

Thanks BAC.  Found them at B&Q  £11.98.  Will invest in some unless I find them cheaper elswhere.

[Cat]

I have just harvested my first ever container grown carrots and they are fab!  Lovely, lush green growth and baby Nantes carrots.  My containers were covered in fleece and no sign of carrot fly yey!

Cat

[newbies]

Telboy,
Never thought of pigeons!!
I now have a many pronged attack, cover with fleece as well, and get the pigeons.

Thanks very much, how can I have been so shortsighted?  Not eaten enough carrots obviously!

Cheers
Linda