Talk to me about carrots.

Gardening to 'grow your own food' from square foot to half an acre !!
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aman
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Talk to me about carrots.

Post by aman »

Morning All
I have tried growing carrots in the past but have never had any success so I am wondering "What is the secret to growing proper carrots?"

We eat a lot of carrots so it makes sense to grow them. They also store well and are quick and easy to cook.

Why can't I grow them?

Paul
Trev62
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Re: Talk to me about carrots.

Post by Trev62 »

"Talk to me about carrots." - Well they are normally (but not always) orange things that come in different lengths and sometimes different sizes, they have a green leafy top and are loved by rabbits! They look a bit like this...... >veg1< ........Sorry I could not resist it! :-D


Now the serious bit - It took us a couple of years to get them growing here as well due to our garden being all clay soil when we moved here.

We found (bear in mind we are self taught and still new at this growing lark) that we had to clear the soil of all the stones, rocks, large pieces of bark etc then we constantly dug it over mixing in sand and compost to create a loamy soil (soil with roughly equal proportions of sand, silt, and clay another term we had never heard of before growing our own vegetables etc.).

I understand that this makes the soil healthy and softer for the carrots so it easier for the roots to grow down long and straight in to it.

We then plant a line of seeds, thin them out when they are a decent size and they then look after themselves, just keep the area weed free or the weeds will steal all the poor carrots nutrients.

This way is different to our Bulgarian neighbours who just throw the seeds in, let them grow and then pull them out in bunches by the handful, all they do is keep the weeds away! We also do this also in some patches but these all go to the rabbit!

Carrots are one crop we intend to grow double of this year so I am watching this thread closely!!

Good luck and do not give up trying with them!
"Not all those who wander are lost"
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lancashire lass
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Re: Talk to me about carrots.

Post by lancashire lass »

Soil preparation and fertility is key to success as Trev described, and plenty of moisture (but not drowning!) Don't add manure to the soil for at least 2-3 years before growing carrots - this encourages plenty of foliar growth at the expense of root (that is, the nutrients in manure favour leafy greens than root growth) As carrots are root crops, aim to dig in a fertilizer with higher level of potassium and phosphorous than nitrogen - preferably about 3 weeks before sowing so that some of it will be washed into the soil by the time they start germinating.

It might help to know what problems you've had, but here's some things I've learned:

1. Seeds take 2-3 weeks to germinate (longer if sown in early spring and the soil temperature (not air temperature) is below 10oC. And slugs and snails just love tender new carrot leaves so if you have been having a no-show, you might want to think about how to protect the seedlings.

2. Using manure has been blamed for a common carrot problem called "fanging" (that is, when the root forks) But it could also be down to the quality of the soil (hence, the preparation first) where the root hits an obstacle (a stone or bit of clay) and this triggers all sorts of things. And the other is water - when a plant does not get enough water, roots can spread out and multiply. Watering should be prolonged particularly during times of dry warm weather (especially in spring when the plants are taking off) so that it goes deep into the soil - soil surface wetting does not encourage roots to grow down. Also, watering well reduces the risk of carrots "bolting" and trying to throw a flower head up.

3. The insidious carrot fly - the larvae do a lot of damage to the roots, then slugs move in (these are soil ones, not the big fat ones you see around) followed by woodlice. Carrot fly also affect other crops in the same family group such as parsnip, celery and so on, so don't grow these nearby as they can attract the carrot fly too. Growing under fine mesh / under fleece is probably the best way to keep them out especially if you don't want pesticides (not that there's much available to the home gardeners these days - nematodes can be expensive) The other is to avoid "thinning out" if you can (that is, don't sow too thick) as the carrot scent of crushed leaves attracts the flies. If you have to, avoid a sunny day, do it in an evening rather than morning, and water afterwards to dampen down. "Masking" the scent with growing between onions is an old trick but not fool proof. Grow a carrot fly resistant variety - these will still attract carrot fly and are not immune, but they do not have the same level of attraction.

4. Choose your variety carefully - like potatoes there are different cultivars such as early, mid, maincrop and autumn. Early types like Early Nantes are ready for cropping about 6 weeks later (depending on the weather and conditions of course - 2 months is probably more like it), while maincrop can be in the ground for up to 3 months. The longer the carrot is in the ground, the more chance of something having a nibble at them. If you have soil with heavy clay (even after all the preparation), grow a wedge shaped stumpy carrot like Chantennay or the round ones (size of a big radish - ideal whole in stews, or novelty salad) such as Paris Market.

Just some ideas ....
Trev62
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Re: Talk to me about carrots.

Post by Trev62 »

Good informative post lancashire lass )like( Learnt a few more nuggets of information myself, thanks )t'
"Not all those who wander are lost"
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lancashire lass
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Re: Talk to me about carrots.

Post by lancashire lass »

Actually, there's one more thing to try which I've had very good results, and that's container growing. I got some off-cuts of plastic piping (about 18-24 inch in diamter) from a building project, but you could use something like a blue barrel/water butt instead (don't forget to drill holes in the base) I put some polystyrene packing in the base as the off cuts were about 3-4 feet high, as it would be silly to fill the whole thing up with compost. Just plain commercial compost, fairly heavy sowing over the entire compost surface with a very light sprinkling of compost on top, and watered well. I also put fine netting over the top, and slug pellets for good measure.

The trick is to routinely thin out as they germinate and grow - there was a clump that were sowed a bit too close and the shoulders of the carrots were so jammed together, I had difficulty getting my fingers down to lift any of them. Later thinnings can be harvested like baby carrots. I have to confess it was one of my better carrot harvests if I was honest. Carrot fly have a limited flying height of about 2 feet so growing carrots above that height is an advantage.

However, and there's always a "but", if a carrot fly is travelling say downhill, or is uplifted by a breeze, the risk is just as great for carrots as they are if in the ground. And slugs and snails seem to like big plastic pots - hence, the carrot plants still need protection from pests. And water more frequently as the added height and gravity will drain the water more quickly than in the ground.
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Re: Talk to me about carrots.

Post by steveindenmark »

My father was a painter and decorator and used to mix his carrot seeds in with wallpaper paste and used an icing bag to sow the paste into drills. He said it made sure he didnt have to thin the carrots. It worked well because we always had lots of carrots.

Having said that. I do not know what they put in wall paper paste. But I am nearly 59 and Im not dead yet. So it cannot be that bad.
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