Root maggots galore!

[shelleyinmichigan]

The biggest enemy in my garden are the root maggots. I have tried crop rotation, container gardening, and mulching and somehow, someway, they always seem to get down in there and burrow into my radishes, turnips, rutabagas, and sometimes even carrots. They don't seem very fond of the beets, but those wiggly buggers seem to be hiding everywhere!!

I will be getting floating row covers for the 2011 season to protect my brassicas from cabbage loopers. Will the FRC's keep out the root maggots as well? Is there a natural deterrent I can put in or on the soil to keep them from coming around?

This frustrates me every year, as I have a wicked good recipe for spicy turnip chips but am unable to grow the turnips myself grrrrrrrrr!

[rainbowgardener]

Whether the row cover would help or not depends on whether they are already in the soil. The pupal/ cocoon form can over winter in the soil, in which case when the adult flies emerge in the spring, your row cover will just trap them in there with your plants. The adult flies lay eggs in newly turned soil and seedbeds, which hatch into the the burrowing larvae that do the damage.

If you don't turn your soil and make seedbeds like that, it should cut down a lot on this problem (type lasagna gardening into the Search the Forum keyword box for lots on how to do that).

Otherwise beneficial nemetodes are a predator for them and can be ordered on line and added to seed furrows or around plants.

[shelleyinmichigan]

I will err on the side of caution (and the fact that no matter where I seem to plant, there they are) that they have just taken up residence every square foot of soil out there.

Nematodes.......I'll be checking them out, buy myself some assassins