March sown carrots to fleece or not?

[dan hazelrowanParticipant]

Hi charles , my mid march carrots sown under fleece are coming up now i realise the battle is now on with the slugs.. In the garden in general but especially with the carrots.

Im thinking to remove the fleece to make night patrol easier and to make less hiding places along the edges.. I can then return the fleece once the carrots are past eating stage..

Or do you think the benefits of the fleece outweigh the risks?

Dangerous march carrots! dan

[charlesModerator]

 Hi Dan, these are good questions and I have decided this year to keep fleece off now that carrots are germinated, in view of the high slug population, many more than last spring. Without fleece the surface dries more and one can occasionally pop out at night.

[dan hazelrowanParticipant]

So i removed the fleece, i think thats the right choice, blackbirds behave!

Did a fleece and stone check today and quite a few slugs under stones and fleece edges , also some sheltering in planting holes under seedling leaves,

What do you think about fleece and parsnip seedlings? They seem a bit hardier perhaps, but more precious!

[dan hazelrowanParticipant]

Just got in from rather a long slug patrol (after a hard days picking and packing) and those little grey slugs were already munching on the carrots! I remember last year my main crop carrots were hard won after many nightly battles with those tiny devils.. I feel this new carrot grow will be similar! But the flavour will be the reward!

[grannyjannyParticipant]

Now we have a full plot I want to experiment with carrots.I spoke to someone from Riverford Organics & he said they use garlic spray so bed will be covered with fleece or enviromesh & the other sprayed several times with garlic wash. Instead of rows I intend to scatter over the beds.What are your views on this please Charles?

[charlesModerator]

 Nice reminder Granny janny about this, I have always managed without it but intend having a go this spring, as I have enough garlic to make some, and enough slugs to warrant it.
3 large cloves, crushed and added to a tablespoon of vegetable oil,  leaft overnight then added to a litre/two pints of water and something sticking like liquid soap of any kind (a teaspoon), strain and either water or spray onto leaves and soil. Repeat every few days and daily if raining.
I shall try it for leatherjackets too….

[grannyjannyParticipant]

You have a different recipe to mine Charles. My horticultural friend passed this on to me. 2 heads of garlic sliced across the middle & soaked in 2 pints of water for 2 weeks. Strain & bottle it. Dilute with water so you just get a slight whiff of garlic. I’ve seen several around, one where you boil the garlic. You’ll need mega amounts of garlic for all your needs. Will you be reporting your findings to your followers?

[charlesModerator]

It depends how much you use it, I would water along edges mostly with a fine rose on the can. Fair comment though and you can dilute it I am sure. Yes I shall post an update after enough time to see…

[devonstewParticipant]

Hi

Wondering how long one can leave the fleece/mesh off before root fly becomes an issue??

thanks

Stew

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