Page 11 - Simply Vegetables Spring 2022

Producing Carrots direct from the Garden to the Kitchen
RON NUTTALL
Whilst I was making my Christmas visit to the supermarket, I could not avoid being awe-struck by their display of vegetables. Closer examination and further admiration made my poor Brussel sprouts, bits of red cabbage and some rather decent tasting leeks in the allotment appear to be rather modest. My attention was drawn to the display of carrots. Yellow tasteless stick they may be, but they are very popular and colourful. There is no doubt they do a magnificent job of adding colour and nourishment to any winter table. I always enjoy eating them as a cooked or raw vegetable, for adding colour to a soup, being an essential ingredient in a summer salad or cut-up in the kitchen as a conveniently placed titbit, a useful substitute for yet another tempting biscuit!
As always there is a downside. During this Christmas week an eye-catching label publicised;
“Eskimo Carrots Washed and Packed. Nine pence a Kilo!!”
I am always up for a challenge, but to rival a Super Market carrot at that price will be some contest!
I have grown carrots before with some success.
On the right is the smooth skinned carrot which ‘stumped–up’ and along with others
was successfully grown for exhibition. Not only are these big carrots full of flavour, but they are also a joy to eat and admired when gifted to local neighbours who have a high regard for my growing skills.
Next to it, is a picture of early maturing salad carrots, force-grown in tubes in my greenhouse and crying-out to be eaten before the tomato plants can take their pride of place.
This year I aim to direct my allotment production of carrots to be used in the kitchen.
Really, it should not be too difficult
to grow this tasty vegetable, while I am increasing my own well-being by healthy eating.
Most carrot varieties are sown outdoors between April and July. They are notable for their disease resistance and are now grown in the fields for eating all the year round.
They do not like hard stony soil, competition from weeds and above all carrot root flies!!
Here is my plan to achieve this year’s challenge:
My aim. To grow a bumper crop of carrots, and with a bit of luck, sufficient to keep me going all summer and as far into the autumn as I can. A few on my Christmas dinner plate would be most welcome.
Choosing the seed. Nantes and Chantenay have long been the recognised names of carrot types for me to conjure with. Heritage seeds are my choice this year. Hopefully they have been chosen to provide a spread of harvest, a richer taste, more vigour and with a natural inbred resistance to pests and changes in the weather.
Preparing the soil. The best soil in
my allotment is the established onion
bed. It has been winter-dug and can be considered a ‘Healthy soil.’ A deep rich sandy loam and now after numerous
crops of onions full of natural fertility with
a marked absence of weeds and probably ready for a well-earned change of cropping.
During my winter digging I decided that the middle bit of the onion-bed would be most suitable as my carrots, in an attempt to isolate them from the scent that may
attract carrot flies if the leaves are disturbed.
Getting the seed bed ready in early spring. Carrots are a cool climate crop and I expect to get them started early.
Along every yard of the row, I will spread a handful of blood fish and bone fertilizer, mixed with as much horticultural sand as I can get my hands on.
This combination will be forked and worked into the soil until there is a fine tilth for the roots to grow into, 8 inches deep, nice and crumbly
Seedling establishment. Rather than sowing under a fleece in March I will sow the seeds when the soil has begun to warm up a bit in early April. There will be a two rows 12” apart.
The early row. Like the Victorian gardeners, using a garden line to mark the drill, it will be watered before placing two [yes 2!] seeds at 4” intervals and protect with a cloche.
My July sowing. To prevent the plants from being drawn and stringy they will be sown further apart,
two seeds at 6” spacing. Preparing for easier weeding and manage
during the summer if it is a difficult growing season.
I plan to produce my carrots as ‘happy carrots.’ If my plans are accepted. The carrots will receive an adequate allowance
Simply Vegetables 11