Kitchen Garden Forum

Hi,
I have noticed that the Autumn King carrots in store are showing signs of back patches on the roots. I have stored them in sand in the garage, The black areas are not soft or evil smelling but obviously renders that part of the root inedible. Any ideas on how to prevent this in the future - they were not washed before storage and appeared to be fine.
Is this a problem of storage or is it created whilst still in the ground?
Would welcome any hints and advice.
Hilary

Ours are still in the ground and show no signs of rotting. We just cover over with straw.

Hi Glallotments
Have done a bit of research and it doesn't look good news burn diseased roots. It would appear to be soil borne and can stay in the ground for up to 10 years. I was hoping someone could give me some more information as all I can find is ' to store properly' whatever that means since I thought I had done everything right.
Hilary

That is a worry!

Hi Hilary,
Just a thought. Has this black occurred since the very low temperatures?
The only time I had anything like this was many moons ago and it was caused by exposure to very low temperature and at the same time the potatoes in store were lost. I now have them insulated against extreme cold and have never had a recurrence.
JB.