The carrot fly is the most dangerous pest of carrots. And she is attracted by the sweet aroma of these root vegetables. In order to drive her away for a long time, or even forever, it is important to know what places she doesn’t like. Expert of the Botanichka portal Nikolai Khromov told us where to sow carrots so that insect pests will no longer disturb you.
Ideal place for carrots
Try to sow carrots on hills and hills – where the winds will blow them from all sides. The place should be directly under the sun's rays. Then the carrot fly will simply be blown away by the wind, and those insects that still managed to gain a foothold on the crops will burn in the sun. Carrot flies are great at learning from mistakes: they will remember your area and will not visit it again.
Secrets of sowing
The soil should be light and nutritious. You can mix it with river sand in equal proportions. The root crop will begin to actively absorb nutrients and develop, its walls will become dense – and the carrot fly larvae will no longer gnaw through them. And fresh manure is prohibited.
Initially, sow carrots at a distance from each other. Too dense plantings are a real signal for the carrot fly: it will begin to actively colonize root crops in order to lay as many eggs as possible.
By the way, the ideal neighbor for carrots is green onions or garlic. These plants emit phytoncides that repel carrot flies. And the onion fly cannot stand the smell of carrots.
Watering should be moderate, infrequent and without sprinkling, so as not to once again attract pests.
Life hack: place wormwood in the rows – the carrot fly cannot stand its smell.
