Might grow carrots next year

[mrsbusy]

I wanted some carrots yesterday so went to my local organic veg shed and for £2 I got 750 grams plus some soil. And a paper bag.

[greenishfing]

That sounds really expensive. However there are some things I am not meant to grow..... it seems. The main one is carrots.

I hope you have better luck than me. Over the years I have spent a fortune trying to get a half decent crop and never succeeded...mainly due to carrot fly which, on my allotment, can mountaineer, dig and generally penetrate all my defences with ease.

I have bought fly resistant seed, carefully covered with environment and grown them in bags up on a table ...and still not succeeded.

[Snoop Puss]

Sympathy like there from me, GF.

Have you tried growing them before, mrsbusy? What kind of soil do you have? Carrots will grow in just about any soil, but some varieties do better than others in some soils. I have clay that goes very hard in the heat. So I tend to grow stubby jobs rather than the really long ones.

[Jungle Jane]

I grow them in containers with old potato or tomato compost. Not many germinated this year if I was selling them they’d be £3 each everything’s more expensive at the mo,we should grow all we can. I’ve only got about five carrots out there,not many liked to germinate,I sow thinly so they don’t need thinning,if you sow too thickly,thinning them out could attract carrot fly,I haven’t had those here. I did think of sowing extra seeds in the gaps but I planted a cucumber next to some & peas with them all. Carrot seed can grow alongside quite a few things

[ameno]

I started growing carrots for cooking over winter three years ago. I've tried several different varieties, and found that I've had by far the best results from plain old Early Nantes. Even though they're not a maincrop variety, they'll grow really big if you leave them in the ground, and they last in ground over winter were I am (I don't get cold winters here in Somerset, though).
I grow them under insect mesh to keep the carrot fly off.

[Dorothyrouse]

Somehow, mine have done well this year, ‘resistafly’, grown in a raised bed, ordinary compost with sand added, covered with Environmesh. Mice nibbled a few though!

[Penellype]

I agree with Ameno that the Nantes types tend to grow best. My favourite is Nantes Frubund but it wasn't available this year so I may have to resort to plain Early Nantes. I have the most success with carrots if I grow them in 30l buckets in sieved compost (usually from potatoes or tomatoes) with bfb added at sowing time. I try to station sow the seeds at 1" apart in every direction - this is fiddly but it means you don't have to thin them. Fresh seed gives a much better germination rate than older seed. I cover them with insect mesh as soon as I have sown them. The main issues I have had have been the odd snail or dot moth caterpillar eating the foliage and on one occasion in one bucket, vine weevils eating the roots.

[Sweet savory]

I agree I get best results growing in containers and they don’t need really rich soil. This year I have grown Lidl ones in a trough that were fine and Nantes vars on the plot which have suffered with carrot fly and splitting although covered and watered (probably not well enough).The containers don’t seem to have carrot fly to the same degree although this year for the first time there was a little. Also growing in containers I can ensure they are kept well watered. On the plot I will harvest next month to store as otherwise they get slugged.
I will sow my final crop of the year about now in old tomato/spud compost in a tub and it is generally ready in mid spring when it is very welcome.

[mrsbusy]

Thanks all for your replies - some interesting and useful suggestions there.
I have to say the carrots I bought tasted wonderful - significantly more flavour than supermarket ones. I find supermarket organic veg don't always taste much different to the non organics.
The veg shed I mentioned is interesting inmho - the produce is all grown without any animal compost - vegan veg.
My allotment has fairly good soil - I am in the foothills of the Chilterns and one end of my plot has a chalk 'chanel' running through which I discovered when making a deep hole for a post.
I have some raised beds and also largish plastic troughs.
I like the idea of sowing some seeds now in used tom compost in the troughs - I'll give it a go.
I have always thought growing carrots sounded quite a challenge but now think it's worth the effort.

[Ger-annie-um]

I will sow my final crop of the year about now in old tomato/spud compost in a tub and it is generally ready in mid spring when it is very welcome.

Can we really start carrot seed at this time of year? I have some planters with lids, do you think it's worth giving it a go?

[mrsbusy]

You can get specific seeds to grow now, and several posts mention Nantes variety.
It's worth a go.

[Penellype]

The Nantes Frubund variety that I particularly like suggests sowing in autumn. I tried this a few years ago in a container and they did grow, but were very, very small. Might be worth a try if you like tiny carrots, but I find varieties like Eskimo keep through the winter, especially under cover, giving you decent sized carrots in early spring before they start to grow again and become "hairy".

[Sweet savory]

Penellype - yes the variety I grow overwinter in pots is Frubund and no I hadn’t realised they are currently unavailable.
Will have a rethink.