Carrot news from the farmette.

[Ricard with an H]

After three years of trying and improving, last years carrots were a resounding success and more than a little is owed to Westi for reminding me to use slug pellets to protect the seedlings. I know, I shouldn't have needed Westi's reminder though that is what this forum is about.

Sometimes helping old-guts with their memory loss.

When I first pulled some carrot backend of summer I was unimpressed with the bland flavour, thinking I could buy carrots like that. After the cold snap they are sweet and yes I do remember reading that some veg get better after a cold period.

I left them in the ground because I'm not happy about carrots in the fridge, a little slug damage though nothing of any consequence and I shall in future sow my seeds later.

[oldherbaceous]

I cleared the last of the carrots, out of the frames last week and had a big bucketful. These were sown late Summer and made enough growth to be of a useable size in the kitchen. I only cleared them all and didn't leave them in the ground, as i wanted to dig that section of allotment through.

[Ricard with an H]

So how do you store your carrots OH. In the past I found they became inert and either dry or slimy.

[oldherbaceous]

Evening Richard, either in damp, coarse sand or damp compost! They do tend to shoot after a while, if it turns very mild, though.

[Ricard with an H]

I did similar with bagged peat mixture compost, I was very kind and gave a neighbour some as I had fat to many. Then I tasted them after a few weeks. Horrible.

Then I had to apologise and won't do that again, since always growing under enviromesh I never had carrot fly. Just a few slug attacks after I stopped using slug pellets.

[oldherbaceous]

Morning Richard, now that is strange.....a couple of things that spring to mind that might have caused this are, was the container that the carrots were in, open topped so they could breathe and was it fairly fresh compost and not one that had got soaked in the sack and got that horrid dank smell? Just a couple of thoughts...

[Ricard with an H]

It was open topped some extent, covered but able to breath is the best description and the compost was new. Not dry and not soaking, just damp.

In fact I bought the compost thinking this wasn't cost effective for carrots I may throw away. Certainly leaving them in a raised bed is working, some of the carrot tops have been eaten by slugs and some of the tops of carrots have dug holes but I mostly cut those off anyway.

Its really nice to pull fresh sweet carrot out of the ground this time of year, really lifted my confidence for this season though there are still many things I can't grow well. Broccoli and cauliflower were again massive failures.

[tigerburnie]

The farmers up here leave carrots in the ground over winter covered in a layer of straw, never had to do this myself as we have always eaten them all by Xmas.

[Ricard with an H]

The farmers up here leave carrots in the ground over winter covered in a layer of straw, never had to do this myself as we have always eaten them all by Xmas.

It was our local market gardener who suggested it as it's what he does. Even carrots with a few holes in are better than store-bought tasting like paraffin.

Have you seen this Tiger ?

[tigerburnie]

He he, had some like that in the past lol, too much manure in the soil usually causes them to go like that.

[Ricard with an H]

I only had a couple of weirdos, I hadn't manured though I did scatter some balanced granular fertiliser. First time in the four years since I prepared the beds. There has been a lot of cured cow poo gone into the soil every year so it's probably still rich though the soil tests as neutral plus a bit.

I had forgot to mention for those that haven't kept up that my dog that died three years ago used to love carrots, pulled then out or dug them out. She used to sit up there on the terrace crunching for hours. Beti, our new Cocker Spaniel doesn't like carrots or green beans. Yes, Molly used to strip my bush beans or pull down the climbing beans.

[Westi]

You may regret that explanation of the dog differences. They all come with some trait or another - Betti is still young & you've a growing season ahead!

[oldherbaceous]

Exactly what i thought Westi, when ever i say something like Richard did, it seems to happen...

Now will it be garlic or onions....

[Ricard with an H]

Thanks for reminding me, yes Beti is still a puppy. You can tell when she mixes with other dogs, rushing in to say hello, all jigging and wagging until she inevitably gets growled at for being juvenile.

On the garlic front you reminded me of that uncomfortable exchange I had with Peter over garlic and dogs. The controversy is bizarre, at my vets yesterday I noticed a large poster warning owners that human food could poison dogs. Garlic was up there and the vet had recommended regular garlic within food or in capsule/ tablet form.

I have a book by Author 'Mary Boughton' who is a Dorset lady running a business from Bridport supplying herbal medicines for over 35 years. No mention is made about qualifications though she is foreworded by a Brendan Clarke. BVetMed VetMFHom MRCVS.

Mary advocates raw garlic in the feed saying that worst that can happen is they get the runs and stink of garlic. On Monday I called the vet nurse helpline for John Lewis pet insurance about fleas, the vet nurse told me that SpotOns work systemically when they actually work by contact (quote the the manufacturer) She didn't know the word "Systemic" and told me never to give my dog garlic.

If you want details of e-mail from the manufacturer I can send you a copy or maybe post it.

Sorry to digress but it wasn't worth a new thread.

[Westi]

I tried garlic with my dogs, but made no real difference. You do have to rotate the products you use though, don't stick to the same one on & on. For example there is a new Frontline out in Australia as the old one became totally ineffective, guess which one is only available here? Too easy hey?

What I really need is something herbal & safe to give my female dog to stop her wee killing the grass & attracting the deadly slime. She is a big dog - big puddles - small lawn! Thanks to the link to Mary Boughton Richard! Will have a peek at her site.
Sorry keeping the digression going - Richard get those carrots in the damp sand!