recommend me a carrot?

[patandchickens]

Thanks very much to everyone! Now I'm back to not knowing what to plant, but in a better-informed way LOL

Perhaps I'll wait til it is actually planting season and then see what is on the rack at the store, let that make the decision for me

Pat

 

[seedcorn]

I believe soil type is more important than variety. I have sandy soil w/rocks. Carrots don't do real well because they need no rocks and like moisture--guess what sand doesn't do very well. Yes, I mulch w/straw and that helps but carrots are heavy feeders.

Good luck

 

[sandyullom]

I planted Danvers last year and was pleased with the crop and the flavor. Did have some trouble with splitting, but not too excessive.

I was browsing a Gardens Alive catalog the other day and noticed a thing called Beneficial Sf Nematodes to protect crops from root-knot nematodes. The picture showed split carrots. http://www.gardensalive.com/product.asp?pn=5004&ss=root-knot
Not trying to change the subject, but was just wondering if anyone has tried this since alot of people have mentioned trouble with splitting.

 

[digitS']

I kinda like Digits approach, other than the split and forked carrots. Did you perhaps transplant your carrots, by the way? . . .

No transplanting, Ridgerunner.

I know that they sometimes have root-knot nematodes. Maybe "sometimes" isn't the right word . . . and darn-near everything can be plagued with those nematodes.

Knowing that they can cause splitting, I talked with some gardeners about the problem. They pointed out that there are other reasons for carrot splitting like excessive fertilizer and - here's a big one - variable soil moisture.

I'd match my rocky ground against just about anyone's . Not only do rocks interfere with how straight a root can grow but they really, really promote dry soil.

For differing reasons, some gardens just aren't suitable for some plants. It is a special joy to find those that actually like our gardens .

Steve

 

[curly_kate]

Do nematodes eat holes in the carrots under the ground? That's my main problem. I've grown chantenay & danvers, and they do pretty well. I tried growing oxheart carrots, but didn't get very good results. Although that was still when I was growing them in the ground vs. in raised beds, too.