Carrots

[ducks4you]

You are so right about the soil. I thought that my soil was loose enough for my carrots in 2013, but I STILL ended up breaking a few. If I get my indoor planting area cleaned up soon, I'm going to try growing some indoors in one of the pots I saved from buying fruit trees, and do soil experimenting until I can figure out the right combination. Every carrot I harvested was sweet, and the early carrots were so tender I didn't need to scrape them to enjoy them. I bought some short variety of carrots last year and had a good result.

 

[PhilaGardener]

I don't have wood heat any longer but how much would be too much? Hard to know. Here is what the U of O has to say: "Ash from a cord of oak meets the potassium needs of a garden 60 by 70 feet, he said. A cord of Douglas-fir ash supplies enough potassium for a garden 30 by 30 feet." (Link)

Hmmm . . . that sounds like a lot to me! I don't think I ever burned a cord in a winter, since I never heated with it. Thanks to digitS' for posting a link to that 2007 OSU Extension Service article.

Interestingly, when I checked that out there was an orange banner that said "This article has been updated. Please check our website for the most recent story." So, I did a little searching and found an article released in 2011, citing the same OSU employee source, titled "Use caution with wood ash on your lawn and garden" (Link), that is much more conservative in its suggestions.

I guess the story with wood ash is know your soil pH, and be cautious, so you don't get burned!

Thanks to digitS' for helping explore the issue and highlight some of the benefits and cautions for us!

 

[digitS']

You are welcome and it is all in the interest in getting us to think about what we are up to and learn from mistakes.

I was taught that some potassium, easily available from a nursery or garden products vendor as sulphate of potash on your carrot growing beds will help sweeten them up. . .

As best as I have been able to understand, potassium sulfate does not alter the soil pH. It is also a certified organic product.

I think I, for one, should heed Hal's "use sparingly" with regards to wood ash.

I am not sure how much firewood I have gone thru in a winter but it may have been like 1½ or 2 cords. My cabin was small but in one home where I lived for 9 years, I had electric heat with a fireplace. I installed a wood stove in the fireplace and used it a good deal.

Steve

 

[Hal]

You are welcome and it is all in the interest in getting us to think about what we are up to and learn from mistakes.



As best as I have been able to understand, potassium sulfate does not alter the soil pH. It is also a certified organic product.

I think I, for one, should heed Hal's "use sparingly" with regards to wood ash.

I am not sure how much firewood I have gone thru in a winter but it may have been like 1½ or 2 cords. My cabin was small but in one home where I lived for 9 years, I had electric heat with a fireplace. I installed a wood stove in the fireplace and used it a good deal.

Steve

Yes it shouldn't do much to the pH in the sort of quantities used in a garden. Silly me I just realized that I could have done better with that sentence, I was referring to the carrots and not the beds but it sounds the other way around.

 

[Smart Red]

I thought high nitrogen levels made carrots "hairy"?

Thank you! I had huge, beautiful carrots but some had lots of hairy roots. I guess my chicken/rabbit helpers made the soil too high in nitrogen? Never happened before I got the chickens.

 

[vfem]

We general grown the Danvers because they germinate well for us. Our problem is more germination then anything else. I tried those purple ones last year, it grew like 3 out of 50 seeds from that pack, but the Danver type did great, probably 90% and I had to thin them good.

Everyone we did grow was super sweet. Other then compost, we really only add rabbit dropping in those beds.

Good to here about the potassium though!

 

[PhilaGardener]

I also had problems with carrot germination over the years. Many sources suggest covering newly planted seed with a board to keep the seed from drying out and promote better sprouting, but boards seemed awkward to use and didn't lay evenly flat against the soil along the row. Last year I had good success covering the seed with a doubled layer of old row cover material. You can water right through it, and it also lets some light through to the emerging seedlings. Check for progress daily after 7-10 days, and you should see lots of little seedlings emerging from the soil (at which point remove the cover). My thanks to Daphne, a Boston area blogger, for putting me onto this idea!

 

[thistlebloom]

I also had problems with carrot germination over the years. Many sources suggest covering newly planted seed with a board to keep the seed from drying out and promote better sprouting, but boards seemed awkward to use and didn't lay evenly flat against the soil along the row. Last year I had good success covering the seed with a doubled layer of old row cover material. You can water right through it, and it also lets some light through to the emerging seedlings. Check for progress daily after 7-10 days, and you should see lots of little seedlings emerging from the soil (at which point remove the cover). My thanks to Daphne, a Boston area blogger, for putting me onto this idea!

That's how I do it too Phila'. But I just use a single layer of frost cloth. The nice thing about the cloth is that you can see the seedlings, and you can leave it in place for a few days as it's light enough to allow the leaves to push it up.

 

[baymule]

Thank you! I had huge, beautiful carrots but some had lots of hairy roots. I guess my chicken/rabbit helpers made the soil too high in nitrogen? Never happened before I got the chickens.

HAIRY CARROTS??? Try Nair.

 

[Smart Red]

Nantes ------------------------------------------- Little Finger

Cosmic Purple ----------------------------------- St. Valery

Red Dragon --------------------------------------- Calliope Blend

Danver's Half-long -------------------------------- Sweetness II

Not shown 'cuz I didn't even bother with a photo were my good sized but hairy Luna carrots. Never thought of Nair because the peeler took care of shaving the roots just fine.