Newbie Question 2 - Pink Flowers

[MikeS]

Hi

2nd newbie question of the day. I noticed that a few of our carrots which we sowed in July have started to sprout little pink/purple flowers, which I didnt expect - hopefully as shown below



When thinning carrots without the flower, I can see little carrots developing, i.e the bottom of the root is started to form and go orange, whereas when we pull these, there is nothing there, just root.

Can anyone advise, why some are flowering ?

Thanks

[reetnproper]

Hi and welcome to the Vine.

Daft question but are you sure these are carrots? I've never seen a carrot flowerlike that (thought they were large circular/ball like flower heads consisting of numerous smaller flowers but please don't quote me coz I know nothing ).

Does the plant smell like carrot when crushed? What was in the bed previously?

Reet
x

[MikeS]

Hi Reet, Thanks for the welcome.

Not such a daft question, as I'm not sure.

It was lawn ( - ok meadow ) previously, but I've not seen them before and they are only growing in the rows where we put the carrot seed ( Autumn King bought from Wilkos ). They are at the same height as the ones without flowers and have all have very similar leaves, so I was making an assumption, although not found anything which compares on the web or in my books.

I didn't think to crush and smell, will try that next time out.

Cheers

[rustylady]

Certainly don't look like carrots to me, and carrots don't produce flowers till their second year. I suspect your seed may have been mixed with something else, though I have no idea what.

[Florence Fennel]

I'm with the others on this one Mike, it doesn't look like a carrot. Try the crush and smell, it looks a little parsley-ish to me. Welcome to the Vine BTW.

[rustylady]

Not parsley either Flo. That again flowers in it's second year and has flat white heads of flowers.

[Florence Fennel]

Morning RL. Hope somebody knows what it is, it's going to annoy me now!

[ladylottie]

Hi - just a guess really - does it have square stems? If so, could it be the wild flower called Vervain?

[Aberdeenplotter]

It's a weed that has foliage like a carrot.

[ladylottie]

It's a weed that has foliage like a carrot.

That's the very one! I'm not so convinced it's vervain now.

[MikeS]

Thanks for all the responses. I think I'll put it down to dodgy seed as too coincident to be random weeds as only appearing in the carrot row.

Thanks again

[Two_Sheds]

Yup, it's def. not a carrot. I have this same weed on my plot ~ I'll see if I can find out what it is


Common fumitary - a common garden weed, "plentiful on light sandy, calcareous and loamy soils and chalk but is rarer on clay"

[MikeS]

Thank You Two_Sheds for clearing that one up

[Two_Sheds]

The reason they 'only' appeared in your carrot rows is most likely because you weeded everywhere else? Then, thinking they were carrots, they were allowed to grow on in the row. Been there, done that