Growing Carrots
Problems growing carrots and Parsnips?
I have set up 3 x 1M square veg plots in garden. One has spring onions in, which is fine. One had carrots in, which were starting to grow nicely, but all but two have had all the leaves eaten away. The third had a mixture of onions and parsnips. The onions are fine. The parsnips start to grow, and seem ok, but then next time i check them, the leaves have gone. Is this anything obvious, as there are no signs of anything to me. They are all covered by a layer of netting.
All advice appreciated
Sounds like slugs, the scurge or gardens worldwide.
If you go out at night with a torch you will see the little (or not so little) blighters chomping away at your plants.
There are several ways of dealing with this. The easiest way is to use slug pellets which you can get at any garden supplies/centre. Many people do not like that solution so there are some other eco-friendlier way to do it.
You can use a nematodes slug killer which is a fairly pricey way of doing it but its very effective. Have a look at Unwin site which sells it at http://www.unwins.co.uk/nemaslug-nematod...
One way is it scatter a layer of curshed eggshells around the plants and as the slugs do not like crawling over them they will not bother. The easiest way to crush your eggshells is to place them in a medium to hot over for a few minutes then they crumble easily after they have cooled.
Still yet, sink some plastic cups in the soil around your plants and fill them with beer. The slughs are attracted to the beer, goes in for a drink and never makes it out alive.
You can also get some copper pipe and make a border around your plot. Slugs do not crawl over copper for some reason, but remember, some can be below surface of the soil.
Another method is to go out at night with a torch and a bucket and and physically coolect the blighters. You will have to decide on how to dispose of them as if you just chuck them somewhere, they are homing creatures and will find their way right back among your scrumptious parsnips before the night is over.
Hope that helps and its not too late for your parsnips.
Happy gardening.
sowing and growing carrots