poor carrotts

[Brenjon]

last year I sowed some carrots from fresh peleted seed from a comercial grower. The carrotts have not formed fully as the last third of them is quite long thin and white. I have grown them in unmanured sandy soil as recommended for carrots, but I must admit that last year when I removed the netting I cut down the tops as they were becomong laid down and attracting slugs,perhaps this may be the cause of the stunted growth.I know that the farmer who grows then nearby harvests large carrots from the same seed. Mine did not grow to more than 3 inch.
I would welcome an answer as I still have some seed and wish to sow the same this year
Regards brenjon

[Brenjon]

I am most surprised that no one including the experts on the forum have not risen to the challenge of answering my question on poor carrots. Perhaps no one has an answer, or an opinion, or the subject is not friviously interesting enough to warrant any interest.I await a reply(if any)with interest.
Regards brenjon

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Brenjon, i'm certainly don't come in the group of experts i'm afraid, but i think that if the carrots had got to the long thin stage, they certainly must have recieved a check at an important time, this could have been due to you cutting the tops or maybe a lack of moisture.
I think i would try them again but don't cut the tops off.
One more thing that has sprung to mind, were they sown a little thick maybe.

I did send you a P.M back about the size of allotments, bt i don't know if you got it because i hadn't realized my in and out boxes were full.

[Brenjon]

Hi old herbacious
(The name is too long why not try Herby.I think you are right on both counts. I should not have cut down the foliage and I probably sowed them too thickly.
I think this year i may well start them off in some guttering in the greenhouse , that way I can control the density of the sowing better when the guttering is raised up on the bench.
Thanks for your reply. Still hav'nt tempted the experts, or anyone else for that matter, to dip their feet in the water and put their two pennyworth in.
Most surprised. By the way I did not get your PM
Regards brenjon

[Colin Miles]

I suspect all the experts are busy out in their allotments/gardens. I personally don't think that starting them off in gutters is a very good idea. Like Parsnips, any checks to the tap root is likely to cause forking.

[Brenjon]

Hi Colin
Thanks for you reply. As regards the guttering. I was hoping to get them into the ground before the tap root got very long and reached the bottom of the guttering. This what i am thinking in theory but as regards the practicalty of it I am probably wrong and it is only wishful thinking on my part. If anyone has any experience of this method with carrots I would be glad to hear it.
Regards brenjon

[Chantal]

I tried parsnips in loo rolls (long taproot as carrots) and found that although I thought I'd planted them out soon enough the taproot, which was very very fine, was damaged and as a result I had short fat parsnips. I would think putting carrots in guttering which is half as deep as loo rolls, unless you're going for the small round variety, would be pretty pointless.

[Brenjon]

I get the pun POINTLESS.
Regards brenjon

[Chantal]

I hadn't even noticed it, oh sorry, that was awful.

[Sammy]

I grew some carrots last year using no fertiliser, just well rotted farmyard manure. Could they be considered organic?. Some were forked, but generally a good crop. A few went to seed and I'm testing the seed now for germination.

[Johnboy]

Hi Sammy,
Carrots should not go to seed in their first year so to save seed from them may be regenerating the wrong seed to resow. You may be proliferating Carrots that simply go to seed without anything edible on the end of them.
Sorry to be a bit pessimistic but sometimes it is not wise to use home produced seed and this I believe to be one example.
JB.