Soil and feed for carrots - advice please

[shirlthegirl43]

I grew some Autumn King and some Chantenay carrots in buckets - planted in seived garden soil back in July. These were thoroughly enjoyed with Christmas dinner.

The question is, can I plant more carrots in the same soil? They are 10litre flower buckets and only grew about 8 carrots in each bucket. The garden soil is lovely loam which has grown nothing but nettle and bramble for at least 10 years previous to the carrots.

Should I add some type of feed or just throw the used soil back on the garden and try to dig and seive some 'fresh' to sow seeds in the greenhouse now for an early crop?

[veg4681]

I grew some Autumn King and some Chantenay carrots in buckets. These were thoroughly enjoyed with Christmas dinner.

They are 10litre flower buckets and only grew about 8 carrots in each bucket.

Sorry, not replying for help as I know nothing.

Just to say, don't give me ideas that I can't resist! Hmmm....8 carrots in a bucket sounds straightforward enough , a bit like potatoes in a bucket.

[shirlthegirl43]

Very straightforward, they seem to take ages though.

[Snadger]

I grew some Autumn King and some Chantenay carrots in buckets - planted in seived garden soil back in July. These were thoroughly enjoyed with Christmas dinner.

The question is, can I plant more carrots in the same soil? They are 10litre flower buckets and only grew about 8 carrots in each bucket. The garden soil is lovely loam which has grown nothing but nettle and bramble for at least 10 years previous to the carrots.

Should I add some type of feed or just throw the used soil back on the garden and try to dig and seive some 'fresh' to sow seeds in the greenhouse now for an early crop?

I personally would chuck the old soil back on the garden and get some fresh! I't aint costing you nowt so why not use fresh? The old soil will have a 'salts' build up anyway!

[Matt.]

Why so few in a bucket?

Maybe this leads into another question about how many carrot seeds per toilet roll? Last year I planted many rolls each with several seeds in. Of the carrots I got a few were twined round each other and wasted. Should I be thinning to just one per tube? I thought carrots can grow in bunches or is this more a forking problem than carrot neighbourliness?!

[bramble]

Personally i would put one per loo role. it will give them every chance to groe into really fine carrots if they have the space.

[Cutecumber]

Long carrots don't grow in bunches - they just sell 'em like that

Unless the carrots are the globe type (like Parmex) I would thin them to one per roll. If you let them grow in a cluster, the longer roots nearly always become entwined (at least, that's what happens to mine grown in containers). Even with the round ones, some tend to develop better than others if you grow them in a group in a container.

[Flummery]

Is it one of those things like the water circulating in a flushed loo? They used to say it went clockwise in the Northern hemisphere and anti in the Southern. Do carrots twine a different way depending on where you are in the globe?

Old wives' tale from an old wife!

[shirlthegirl43]

I planted more than eight per bucket folks, the cat (he liked sleeping on the buckets) and the slugs (liked eating the new shoots and I didn't spot it at first) contributed to the low yield. I sowed the seeds singly as per packet final spacing instructions (kind of). Worth it to grow some just for crimbo dinner as I just kind of ignored them to a large extent. Intend being more organised about the next lot and sowing sucessional buckets for year round pleasure. By the way, I don't have much deep dug soil yet in the garden, hence the bucket system.

[piskieinboots]

am I right in thinking carrots are better with sand mixing into the compost?

[shirlthegirl43]

I don't bother but then I have lovely loam (lucky me) under the brambles and nettles. I believe sand is a good addition if you have heavier soil

[shirlthegirl43]

I personally would chuck the old soil back on the garden and get some fresh! I't aint costing you nowt so why not use fresh? The old soil will have a 'salts' build up anyway!

Thanks Snadger, maybe one day it will stop raining, thundering, lightening, blowing a gale, long enough for me to go dig a bit of soil and let it dry somewhere a bit so I can seive it. Was hoping to sow some without any hassle is all.

[gojiberry]

I would have gone for the same soil with the addition of a little fresh multi purpose compost and a few chicken pellets. But then I often take the easy option.

[Snadger]

I've grown good straight carrot fly free carrots this year, but I DID grow under enviromesh (in fact about half my crop are still there!) and used a sandy loam.
This year because I've just aquired a load of 'buck she' 5 inch plastic pipe I am going to try growing some carrots in pipes Cut into 4 foot lengths, filled with sand, soaked, a crow bar knocked into the middle and the top worked around to make a deep cone, filled with a john Innes type compost ie sand,loam and peat or coir and three seeds sown in the top, thinned to the strongest plant.

I had half a dozen this year with parsnips in and I was well pleased with the results............so here's hoping!

[Snadger]

I would have gone for the same soil with the addition of a little fresh multi purpose compost and a few chicken pellets. But then I often take the easy option.

I fear that by adding chicken pellets which are high in nitro you may get carrots with wonderful tops but very little bottom!

I have learned, by growing crops in the bed soil in a greenhouse that even if you add manure/compost and feed well, your crops get progressively worse each year. I still grow in the bed soil, but change the soil each year!