We are in quite an enclosed space in our plot, and don’t really have much of a problem with pests. So far we’ve had some powdery mildew on our pumpkins and courgettes, next doors cat making a mess (which has been put off by the chilli powder i put down!) and slugs and snails which everyone has, and are easily prevented with copper tape.
After getting excited about the green growth on the parsnips, i decided to pull one up. My happiness at how fab it looked lasted only a few seconds when i spotted some little critters on the top of the parsnips crawling around. So i pulled another one and it had the same problem. I am still trying to find out what they are, but think we may have to pull the whole parsnip crop and store them.
Anyone any idea what it is…if it is carrot fly, the carrots may be at risk too….
July 12th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
Turns out it is aphids, and they only eat the leaves…i hope so…might net it next yr
July 20th, 2007 at 11:07 am
Just in case you don’t know -
Aphids can be sprayed with washing up liquid in water to prevent them sucking too much from yer plants yet staying eco friendly. Carrot fly can be deterred by interplanting your carrots with onions, garlic or marigolds (so they can’t smell the carrots!) or covering with fleece or simply fencing them in - the carrot fly only hovers a few cm off the ground so if there’s a barrier it’ll just turn around!