Aarrgg! My carrots are all infested with root maggots. They look disgusting. I will have to pull and dispose of the entire crop. Very disappointing.
Root maggot controls include crop rotation, immediate turning of soil in the fall, beneficial nematodes, and row covers. Next year I hope to plant my carrots in my new community garden plot, which will have more sun. It looks like people there worry more about rabbits as carrots are covered with chicken wire not fabric.
Daucus carota
4 Comments. Leave new
I’m sorry for you carrot lose. You learn from your mistakes. Better luck next year with your community garden plot
Coffee grounds on top of the soil seems to keep the root maggots at bay for me… For radishes too.
Most people here use row covers. Carrot flies can also smell freshly dug carrots, so be sure to remove these from the area of the carrots still growing as soon as possible.
I had a small problem with these last year for the first time.
I’m being lazy and the dug carrots are still out there. This weekend I hope to clean up. I pulled several from different areas and it seems the whole crop is badly affected. I’ll go with row covers next year. I have a new system of hoops I’m putting in on a couple of beds.