I wanted to show you the progress on my carrots grown from seeds in pots on the walkway in our garden.
This is my farthest along pot of carrots out of six. One pot was badly damaged by slugs. It's now only partially full of carrot plants, so not a total loss. The other pots are somewhere in between that one and this one in the photo. This pot is also the first that I seeded, then thinned. So that explains part of why it's a little further along than the rest. My garden is only partly sunny, getting about 4 to 5 hours of full sun per day and about 2 to 3 hours of filtered sun.
I planted Danvers Half Long carrot seeds beginning in mid-April. In June I thinned the carrots, using the greens in cooking. In early July I thinned this pot again. I now have about 40 carrots of varying sizes growing in this one pot.
The largest carrot that I can right now is about 3/4-inch across the root top. I don't dig around the soil much. I just happened to notice this one large top showing a little.
I read a tip this season on growing carrots. The writer said he attributed his super large carrots to watering the plants twice a day. I've been trying that when I can. Perhaps that will help my carrots grow big, too.
The tallest leaves in this pot are about 20 inches from the soil surface. My pot is about 16 inches deep and 16 inches across at the opening.
My plan is to begin pulling carrots from this pot in mid-September for fresh eating. I expect I will finish harvesting all of the carrots in late October or early November, and I will store them in the fridge wrapped in paper towels plus large plastic bags. We were eating our garden carrots in winter last season. And they stayed fresh and crisp for us stored that way.
It's clearly possible to grow some veggies in small spaces, such as balconies, tiny patios, or front porches and steps. So often we think we need to have a lot of land to grow some of our own food. That's just not true. I've known folks who grow enough veggies in a small front yard that they give away armloads to food banks each week in July and August.
Something to chew on. . .
You are so right about being able to grow a lot of food in a small space! We have been pleasantly surprised by how much we can grow on our 1/6th acre lot (including the house) in town. Literally hundreds of pounds of produce a year, plus eggs, and even meat at times. And that's in a zone 7b, not something like a 9 or 10 where much more can be grown perennially. It's a lot of fun to learn and experiment!
ReplyDeleteGreat job on the carrots! You've inspired me to try again growing them in grow bags this fall.
Hi Cat,
DeleteYour amount of produce, eggs and sometime meat is quite impressive, given you live on a normal town-sized lot. It makes me think I should be turning more of our yard into vegetable and fruit gardens.
And the added bonus, I think, is that carrot tops are a pretty plant. We've had a dry summer, and I do some watering, but I don't think it's been enough to produce especially big carrots. I guess it's never too late to step it up.
ReplyDeleteHi Live and Learn,
DeleteI'm used to dry summers, here. So watering is a daily thing for us. Hopefully your area will get some much needed rain very soon.
My husband has been using pots for gardening a lot in recent years and often, those plants produce more than the actual garden!
ReplyDeleteHi Kris,
DeleteOh that's interesting -- glad to hear of your husband's pot gardening success! Pots work better for us for some items. I think it's easier to control pests and quality of soil in pots, and that seems to matter more with some veggies.
Jealous of your beautiful carrots! Growing carrots is trickier in my region (Midwest) these days, sadly now that Poison Hemlock has hit our area hard and spreading fast (and unfortunately we did purchase bulk compost last year from our local garden center unknowingly that was apparently contaminated with Hemlock seed). Poison Hemlock (indeed the very stuff that killed Socrates) is of the carrot family, and when sprouting looks exactly like....yep, you guess it, carrot...! Except that it will actually kill you (if ingested -- or cause very bad rashes when skin exposed). I am trying to germinate carrot seed in my garden right now -- guess I'll just have to be certain not to consume any thinnings unless and until I have 100% carrot ID...
ReplyDeleteThat's scary! I had no idea about Poison Hemlock. I looked up a photo online and yes, it does look like carrot tops. Good plan to wait until you are certain whatever has sprouted is indeed a carrot.
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