allan, thats exactly what compo was commenting on , why at this stage do you feel the need to correct johnboy's spelling in a post way up the page?
back to carrots you may remember i planted some in a bathful of council compost, tonight i pulled some loverly 9 inch carrots, the longest ever grown here by a long way.
maincrop carrots ?
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"allan, thats exactly what compo was commenting on , why at this stage do you feel the need to correct johnboy's spelling in a post way up the page? "
OK, calm down no harm done, Even I was not sure so I double checked just to be sure. It's quite obvious by now that there are other many other spelling errors above which I shall not pick on.If you don't know already any of us could post-edit any of our own messages if we see fit, a double-edged weapon.
OK, calm down no harm done, Even I was not sure so I double checked just to be sure. It's quite obvious by now that there are other many other spelling errors above which I shall not pick on.If you don't know already any of us could post-edit any of our own messages if we see fit, a double-edged weapon.
Hi Compo,
Thank you for coming back to me quickly.
Over the years there have been many heartbreaking stories with Carrots or rather the lack of them.
Before living here I gardened on Hertfordshire Clay and Carrot seedlings had very little chance. I perfected a method that perhaps Jerry and others may be interested in. (and this will come later)
It is possible to transplant Carrots but the sad thing is that you do not know if you have damaged the taproot in the planting out until the end of the season with the final result.
I have a daughter who has grown Carrots in Builders Buckets for years with great success so in your container you should do quite well. BTW Builders Buckets sell for 99p hereabouts and 2 of them would give you more surface area than your 15" container to grow in. I have never grown your Italian variety so have no idea what the result will be but just so long as it is something rather than nothing. I would be interested to know the result.
Somehow I feel that growing in guttering may well be a too shallow starting base so perhaps you could keep us informed as to how they go on.
I do take on board what you say when it is concerned with growing.
I will leave it there for the present but will return to the subject later on in the day.
Thank you for coming back to me quickly.
Over the years there have been many heartbreaking stories with Carrots or rather the lack of them.
Before living here I gardened on Hertfordshire Clay and Carrot seedlings had very little chance. I perfected a method that perhaps Jerry and others may be interested in. (and this will come later)
It is possible to transplant Carrots but the sad thing is that you do not know if you have damaged the taproot in the planting out until the end of the season with the final result.
I have a daughter who has grown Carrots in Builders Buckets for years with great success so in your container you should do quite well. BTW Builders Buckets sell for 99p hereabouts and 2 of them would give you more surface area than your 15" container to grow in. I have never grown your Italian variety so have no idea what the result will be but just so long as it is something rather than nothing. I would be interested to know the result.
Somehow I feel that growing in guttering may well be a too shallow starting base so perhaps you could keep us informed as to how they go on.
I do take on board what you say when it is concerned with growing.
I will leave it there for the present but will return to the subject later on in the day.
JB.
AT THE OUTSET I WANT TO MAKE IT ABUNDANTLY CLEAR THAT THIS METHOD IS INTENDED FOR USE IN GARDENS AND ON ALLOTMENTS ONLY.
The area needs to be weed free but digging is not necessary.
Place out a line to the length of row you require and then gradually insert a fork using a circular motion until the fork is fully into the ground exaggerate the size of the holes and fill them with a mixture of MP compost plus 10% Sharp Sand (not builders sand) working your way down the required row.
I used a large funnel and a ¼” wide stick to make sure the compost fills the hole to just within ½” of the top. Carefully water this and adjust levels of compost if necessary. Sow one seed if you are an optimist or a few if seeds if you are not per hole and then fill the hole with sifted MP compost to the existing ground level and firm the compost. Water again sparingly only just sufficient to dampen the top compost.
Place Slug Pellets alongside each side of the row and cover with either fleece or very small mesh anti-insect netting. Best done using a hoop system to give the Carrots room to grow to their full height and to allow good ventilation.
It would appear that just so long as the tap root manages to grow straight down the Carrots as they grow in size are able to cope with the clay soil.
When I lived in Hertfordshire 30 years ago I used this method very successfully and then I moved to Herefordshire and left the clay behind.
A 30ft row should produce around 200 quality Carrots.
The area needs to be weed free but digging is not necessary.
Place out a line to the length of row you require and then gradually insert a fork using a circular motion until the fork is fully into the ground exaggerate the size of the holes and fill them with a mixture of MP compost plus 10% Sharp Sand (not builders sand) working your way down the required row.
I used a large funnel and a ¼” wide stick to make sure the compost fills the hole to just within ½” of the top. Carefully water this and adjust levels of compost if necessary. Sow one seed if you are an optimist or a few if seeds if you are not per hole and then fill the hole with sifted MP compost to the existing ground level and firm the compost. Water again sparingly only just sufficient to dampen the top compost.
Place Slug Pellets alongside each side of the row and cover with either fleece or very small mesh anti-insect netting. Best done using a hoop system to give the Carrots room to grow to their full height and to allow good ventilation.
It would appear that just so long as the tap root manages to grow straight down the Carrots as they grow in size are able to cope with the clay soil.
When I lived in Hertfordshire 30 years ago I used this method very successfully and then I moved to Herefordshire and left the clay behind.
A 30ft row should produce around 200 quality Carrots.
JB.
As I reported earlier I was about to make a last sowing of carrots, inevitably Autumn King, for mainly domestic purposes. Yesterday I looked at the cultivated row and found that the cultivator had only penetrated about 2 inches bcause of all the loose grass and weeds. I have now raked that aside and re-cultivated to an additional 6 inches. I then sieved out the rubbish and replaced the sieved soil in the trench. On looking through my seed store I have already bought fresh this season Autumn King seeds plus an additional packet of pelleted AK seeds and in the circumstances it was beneficial to use those but owing to the slope of the ground and my inability to reach across the bed a 4 foot bed is out of the question so I have sown a double strip 50 foot long with enough space between to enable me to hoe. The bright green pellets were easy to see as I worked.As I do not wish to grow big carrots or thin before harvest the spacing used is approximately 1.5 inch. The straight rows are marked with a generous number of twigs. Coverage is approximately half inch. I reckon thet I stand to get up to 800 carrots at harvest time, at the closer spacing there should be some spares of the smaller size for our choosy customers.
Later/ early next year sowings will be in the polytunnels and of the other two F1 varieties, non pelleted.
Allan
Later/ early next year sowings will be in the polytunnels and of the other two F1 varieties, non pelleted.
Allan