Nematodes

We have two raised beds that we would like to put vegetables in however last year carrot fly and slugs had a lot of the veg. This year I want to do things differently. I have turned over the soil and plan to put a bag of manure (from the garden centre) on each bed, but not sure if I can plant immediately after adding it?

My plan is to put onions, beets and leeks in one bed and carrots, celery, lettuce and radishes in the other.

I have heard that nematodes kill slugs but have never used them. Do they work and can I plant directly after using them or do I have to wait?

As regards carrot fly, is there any way of stopping them completely?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

@Peter K Yes nematodes will help with the slugs. I've used them for several years now and think they help. They need to be applied when the soil is warm enough and damp, they are easy to apply. You may need a couple of applications per season. They are environmentally friendly and you can plant straight after use or apply to growing crops. They do not affect snails and most of the slugs die underground.
As for the carrot fly these are weak fliers and stay fairly close to the ground, some form of fleece or fine insect mesh over the top of the raised bed should reduce the problem.

 

I use a mesh cloche/tunnel to put over my carrots after 1 year of hellish carrot fly. I have virtually no attacks from the pesky b's. You can use the tunnel for all sorts and reuse again and again. The likes of Amazon /Ebay have loads to choose from.

 

I grow excellent carrots year on year.....no carrot fly

I do 4 things: sow thinly, thin out when a couple of inches high and then hose them, ( to douse down carrot smell) I use nematodes for carrot fly and finally fleece them.

The nematodes have only been used over past couple of years ...more of a belt n braces thing.

Peter, don't use manure on your carrot bed .....carrots will fork and perform poorly. I would use the manure in autumn not now.

Nematodes are good for slugs....do not work on snails. My regime for slugs n snails is a night time visit with torch and salt bucket

 

We seem.to have more snails than slugs. If nematodes don't work on snails is there anything I can water in for slugs and snails? I know there used to be a good product for snails and slugs in planted areas (not fruit or veg) however I think it's now been withdrawn

 

Funnily enough my carrots did fork and grow funny last year but I put that down to transferring seedlings from modules to beds.

 

Some do grow carrots in modules first....apparently do so very well but in my experience transplanting causes a check in growth, forking, splitting, etc. Best to sow insitu. Erratic watering too is a cause of splitting so keep carrot bed reasonably moist....at least do not let it dry out and then water it!
Peter, the torch and salt regime is not ideal I know but it does keep my garden pretty well intact.....hostas for example look good right through to September. Just a couple of times a week, esp in spring and early summer, makes a big difference. No magic bullet for slugs n snails I'm afraid

 

Thank you very much everybody. Lots of very useful information here.

 

Grow onions, leek and garlic with carrots. Old school method of dealing with carrot fly but it works.
As an aside, Amarantus and sweetcorn are good companion plants to break up the soil for better if that is an issue.