The carrot and the stick Living in Bromley Cross at an elevation of 600 feet above sea level and just below the High Veldt of Edgworth, I have had great difficulty in growing carrots – something probably experienced by many.

In the past the attempts have been ruined by the weather and attacks from the carrot root fly.  Heavy doses of Bromophos and protection by fleece did not seem to be effective and manky small carrots riddled with holes from the carrot root fly were common so we gave up growing them for a few years. In 2006 however I tried an entirely different tack and used

1.         A raised bed of sand/soil and peat to get a good tilth, dry conditions and some warmth

2.         No manure or fertiliser

3.         A covering of the proprietary fine netting called Enviromesh arranged as shown in the diagram. The picture also shows the structure of the netting which is extremely tough and allows sunshine and rain in to encourage growth. I got mine from Dobies but there must be other suppliers.

The results were amazing. No nasty chemicals were used (apart from a small scattering of slug pellets) and large perfect prize winning carrots (Autumn King) were harvested in late summer