Successful carrot experiment

[steveB]

I know a few of you have had trouble with the early carrot crop this year,  not many hours ago I pulled a bunch of early Nante and they were pretty good, no fly ingress and they looked and tasted pretty good.

I sowed them early, seven rows about 15cm apart, each row about a metre long, put planks edge on around the bed and covered with fleece until germination, which was very even.

The experiment has been an out and out success, I shall certainly do it next season - just thought I'd share this tip with you.

I will probably sow a couple of rows straight into open ground this week as the weather is so warm, by the time they come up the carrot fly should be long gone - maybe in someone else's crop.

[jellied]

food for thought. never had any success with carrots. either direct planting, from seedlings or faffing about with a length of gutter...

[hellymedic]

Carrots don't seem to do here either, but I'm not far from jellied.

[Kathy]

My carrots didn't do at all well, on account of somebody spending a happy day digging up all the seedlings.

Carrots don't survive the ferret rotavator impression.

[Si]

Woo-hoo.  Of my first carrot bed I've had one come up at last

But as it's several inches tall and no sign of any of the others I'm not holding out much hope. 

[Maffie]

I was lazy with the carrots and seeded up a rectangular container with a couple of rows and so far ive got some good growth going on. Think it may of been pot luck though 

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

Woo-hoo.  Of my first carrot bed I've had one come up at last

But as it's several inches tall and no sign of any of the others I'm not holding out much hope. 

Maybe they've all joined up to make one giant super-carrot and your carrot bed will shortly see a re-enactment of The Giant Great Big Enormous Turnip, or whatever it was called.

[Ian H]

Has anyone ever managed to grow a carrot shaped like Ester Rantzen? (younger readers might not understand this.)

[Si]

If only my carrot were over sized or commical, alas, no, just a very small and average carrot.  But the second carrot bed is doing well.

Plus I have umpteen radishes shaped like bottoms which the old bloke in the arm chair with the round glasses would have been deeply moved by.

[Otto]

My carrots have come up trumps this year..last year the flies got them this time I surrounded them with marigolds. and threw the dead headed flowers from the marigolds amongst them...its kept the flies away a treat...just nice crunchy hole free carrots

[Si]

I tried growing garlic betwen the lines of carrot in order to mask the smell rom the fly. But something keeps digging up my garlic