Carrots gone to seed?

Hi all,

I am really curious to find out what happened to some of the carrots we attempted this year. I did a row of Nantes, which have been absolutely fab, and a row of White Belgian. The latter started flowering, and the stems got really thick. When I pulled them up the carrots were really tiny and very hard - not usable. It sort of looked like the carrots had bolted, but I am not sure why.

I am a bit wary of trying them again next year, so think I will do more of the Nantes. But would love to know if this has happened to anyone else. They were right next to each other so it is weird that one row would go so very wrong!

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Permalink Reply by Sue Gollop on August 19, 2010 at 7:43

At least you got some carrots. I can't get any variety of carrot to germinate on my allotment (well maybe the odd hardy soul). I keep the ground damp, I cover it with fleece and generally molly coddle them. I did get carrots to germinate in toilet rolls and then I left them out to harden up one evening only to find a massive slug attack had ruined the lot. Should I give up on carrots? (I notice my neighbours on the allotment have similar problems).

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Permalink Reply by Liz Postlethwaite on August 19, 2010 at 8:08

I find carrots very fussy about soil - they need a really light one to send their roots right down. Also, this year they haven't liked the sporadic rain so that could have caused them to bolt. The other problem is carrot fly which is a real pain though can be prevented by growing them with a barrier around them. I wouldn't give up on them though because they're so worth the effort when you manage to grow your own. We've had our plot for 5 years and it's only this year that we've had any success with them after years of trying. Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Beck on August 19, 2010 at 11:23

Thanks ladies. I guess maybe these white carrots just didn't like our soil. The Nantes ones were lovely and it is odd that one variety did so well and the other did not. I wondered if there was something wrong with the seeds! I will not bother with the white ones next year but will definitely do more of the Nantes.

I wondered if it would be possible to get some kind of seed swap organised via this site as I would be happy letting someone else have a go with the white ones.

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Permalink Reply by Melinda Que_Linda on August 19, 2010 at 14:31

I grew the BBC dig in freebies- red chantenay

They have produced some very cute, stumpy little carrots.
I cant claim they were worth the effort involved in the soil prep.

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Permalink Reply by Damo on August 19, 2010 at 21:11

Carrots are a bit of a nightmare. I've been trying to grow some long carrots for competition and some of them bolted, I assume it was the really dry weather earlier in the year. The Amsterdam Forcing I grew in pots are all fine though if a little thin. Still haven't fathomed the mystery of carrot growing yet!

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Permalink Reply by Barry D on August 19, 2010 at 22:41

Most things generally bolt with the hot dry weather - that would make them go hard as well.

Cant remember where I read / heard this - but someone was saying carrots do better on heavier soils, as long as its not too stony (I know its against conventional wisdom of sandy soil). I certainly had problems some years growing on a very sandy soil, which had trouble holding nutrients despite copious quantities of compost.

I found the best thing that helped carrot growing was grass clippings as a mulch - which helped moisture, but also provided cover for the odd frog which kept the slug damage down.

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Permalink Reply by Beck on August 24, 2010 at 22:51

Thanks guys - that's all really interesting. I could not believe how hard those white carrots were! And they were small. But still...the Nantes ones are very nice although one I pulled up yesterday looked as though the carrot fly had got it!

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Permalink Reply by Flighty on August 25, 2010 at 16:06

I had no luck at all with carrots this year despite good soil preparation and sowing several varieties over a period of time. Few germinated, and those that did were pretty pathetic!
As I like them I shall try again next year having spent the coming winter reading up on them and deciding which ones to grow!

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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Brealey on August 28, 2010 at 20:03

I grow mine in bottles in good bought compost. Just cut the top off a big plastic drinks bottle, make some holes in the bottom, and it makes a perfect deep plant pot for carrots to grow in.

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Permalink Reply by Mandy Lam on August 28, 2010 at 20:43

Hi Jonathan

This sounds like a great idea! How many carrots do you plant in each bottle?

I've grown my carrots in a big trug in shop bought compost, but they've only been finger length. The container is deep enough, I'm just not sure how to make them grow bigger!

Thanks

Mandy

Jonathan Brealey said:

I grow mine in bottles in good bought compost. Just cut the top off a big plastic drinks bottle, make some holes in the bottom, and it makes a perfect deep plant pot for carrots to grow in.

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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Brealey on September 3, 2010 at 21:15

I just put in about 4-6 seeds in the top, cover it with about 5mm of compost, and as soon as they've germinated, whip out all but the strongest two, then when a little bigger, leave only one strong one. The seeds are fiddly though, so more is okay. You can keep them warm enough to germinate in the greenhouse, then move them about all over depending on what conditions you want, as the bottle wont weigh much, but is surprisingly firm in stance and hard to topple.

Mandy Lam said:

Hi Jonathan

This sounds like a great idea! How many carrots do you plant in each bottle?

I've grown my carrots in a big trug in shop bought compost, but they've only been finger length. The container is deep enough, I'm just not sure how to make them grow bigger!

Thanks

Mandy

Jonathan Brealey said:
I grow mine in bottles in good bought compost. Just cut the top off a big plastic drinks bottle, make some holes in the bottom, and it makes a perfect deep plant pot for carrots to grow in.