carrots

[BarbaraE]

Please advise: I planted Autumn King in large troughs ( to avoid carrot fly) which I filled with a mixture of sharp sand, peat free compost and compost of my own. These have now matured into rather pale, woody, juiceless and tasteless carrots. What have I done wrong?
Thanks
Barbara

[oldherbaceous]

Good afternoon Barbara, it sounds very much as if they have had a lack of moisture and food. And i know you are now going to tell me you have kept them well watered!

[Geoff]

But why are Autumn King mature now? Do they behave strangely if you sow them earlier than the normal time, for me Early June?

[Ricard with an H]

Barbara, please don't be offended and my comment comes from only three years of growing things, other growers views and to some extent an unqualified opinion.

Some things just do not do well in pots and there is an over-emphasis by grow-your-own-marketing for growing in containers. When it comes to watering and feeding something in a pot is like a baby, it needs careful-daily attention.

To prove this point, or otherwise, at least to myself this season I have grown some plants in pots and the same plant in the ground. In most cases there was a noticeable difference.

I love to see pots of things growing around our patio area and having herbs and flowers close to the house is useful and cathartic but I'm getting more-and-more picky about what I put in pots and for next season I will yet-again re-consider the growing medium and it's nutrient support.

I'm even putting my potted lavender plants in the ground. they grew well last year but this season as the roots filled the pots they started sulking.

The only exception for me has been spring onions and parsley. Both have done equally well in containers and in the ground though of-course any containers need careful attention or you loose the planting very quickly to drying-out, overwatering, over-or-under feeding.

My carrots this year are growing under enviromesh, I haven't lost any to carrot fly though I haven't tried growing in containers yet.

[Fleurisa]

The guy at our allotment who is the source of lots of information told me that carrots grown in pots should be sat in a tray filled with an inch of water at all times

[Ricard with an H]

In hindsight, and with reservations.

Plastic-V-clay pots, also considering the growing medium. Some growing mediums drain very much more slowly than others.

I have just soaked all my clay pots, for a learner grower who over-waters I'm just coming to terms with under-watering pots. In the case of clay pots it's difficult to get the growing medium to hold on to water once the whole pot has dried.

If, as in my case, you're nervous about over-watering. It's easy to go the other way during dry spells.

"Grow-your-own"

It's easy.

[Ricard with an H]

I just pulled a few carrots, it looks like I'm only halfway-there by having nice clean carrots. I grew Royal-something, short carrots. Not as tasty as those bendy and grub eaten ones I grew last year called ? And they were free as well.

I hate this memory loss thing. It'll come to me or I'll find the old packet.

[Westi]

Hee Hee! Richard - it does make me smile reading your posts . Grow your own - indeed easy!

Westi

[Ricard with an H]

It-is funny though.

Three years to grow clean carrots and whilst they don't taste of paraffin I might need another two years to get the taste right.

If I had paid more attention to why allotments have all that netting and stuff then I wouldn't have tried to grow carrot and cabbage and......................

Right now my dog hasn't figured how to get to the carrots under the netting and she does like cabbage stalks so once she figures out the netting problem I'm doomed to yet more failure.

I had a visitor, amazed I grew all this from seed as if it's close to impossible. Thats the horticultural marketing taking-over common-sense. I explained to my visitor that the carrot seed et-al goes into prepared soil then the the seed grows into carrots and stuff. Amazing-Eh.

[robo]

This year I used carrots on a tape but I did put a row of garlic chives down each side last year my carrots where infested with corrot fly, my wife grows them in containers this year she only did one for some unknown reason we tipped it out 2 weeks ago the carrots where all a nice size and we got them before the carrot fly had made much of an impression the ones I planted are doing well we have only pulled a couple as we are all veged up but they where fly free

[Ricard with an H]

Garlic chives ? I have never seen garlic chives and it sounds a good idea but they won't stop my dog digging up carrots. She loves to crunch carrots so I built a net enclosure which has kept her away as well as the carrot fly.

The inert-tasting carrot I have grown is called Chanteney, I may have the spelling wrong and it may be Royal. I can't remember the name of the tasty ones I grew last year, what did you grow robo and are they tasty or just average ?

[robo]

We normally grow nantes ive not pulled many from the ones planted at the side of the chives apart from my granddaughters pulling one each and they did not leave the plot

[Ricard with an H]

Ah-yes, Nantes was the one I grew. I suppose we-all have differing tastes, for me Nantes was nicer than Chanteney though I grew Chanteney because they have been the nicest store-bought carrot. And they were free.

Any recommendations for next year, I bet Geoff has a tennis court full of the tastiest carrots known in GYO circles and beyond.

[BarbaraE]

Thank you everyone, and especially Richard H for all the chatty wisdom. It's distilled into three point, carrots don't like pots; not watered enough; pulled too early. Hmmm. So how DO you get tasty carrots?

[Ricard with an H]

So how DO you get tasty carrots?

If you can only grow in containers have you considered trying those fabric growing bags ? There is quite a lot of volume when they are full, I grew salads in them and if you make sure you fill them the carrots may have enough space. Maybe a shorter variety but you'll need advice about the tasty because the carrots I grew this year are not as tasty as Nantes.

And make sure you cover them from seedling onwards, I tried all the tricks of growing onions and garlic alongside and whilst this does help I still got maggots.

No maggots this season, all-hail to enviromesh.