Re: Deformed carrots
- To: D*@EARTHLINK.NET, v*@eskimo.com
- Subject: Re: Deformed carrots
- From: P*@aol.com
- Date: Fri, 25 Dec 1998 09:29:52 EST
- Resent-Date: Fri, 25 Dec 1998 06:30:34 -0800
- Resent-From: veggie-list@eskimo.com
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In a message dated 12/24/98 9:53:12 AM Eastern Standard Time,
DebbynChris@earthlink.net writes:
> I planted carrots last August and they are starting to get big enought
> to eat , but most of them ,when I pull them , look good for the first
> 3-4 inchs , then they get real narrow, then start growing again ......
> they are about 1-11/2" dia. for 4 inchs then they have a band of maybe a
> 1/2 " then it gets big again , its hard to describe.
> What is going on with my Carrots, they taste great but look like hell,
> some also sprout double roots after the narrowing part....what did I do
> wrong?
The soil is probably too hard. When I gardened in a clay-based soil I had
very poorly shaped carrots, many short & stubby, forked, bent, etc. They
tasted okay.
I added tons of composted wood chips over several years, and this
eventually solved the problem, but in the meantime, I trenched the row that I
was going to use for carrots. Then I put in two 8" boards about 1 1/2 inches
apart. I backfilled the soil on the outside, and filled the inside with a
mixture of sand and peat. Then I carefully pulled the boards back out and
seeded the carrots. Since carrot seeds often will not even break through a
clay crust, I also topped the seeds with a thin layer of peat. The carrots
then had a soft medium in which to grow, but their roots could also reach more
fertile soil. It did the trick.
Pollinator@aol.com Dave Green Hemingway, SC USA
The Pollination Scene: http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html
The Pollination Home Page: http://www.pollinator.com
Jan's Sweetness and Light Shop (Varietal Honeys and Beeswax Candles)
http://users.aol.com/SweetnessL/sweetlit.htm
