Watering Carrots

[Lovely Helen]

Hi all

I have a silly question about carrots. I had really good ones last year which did well with little input. However this year they have been dreadful. Since the rain has started the last few days they now look great. Therefore I think the poor things have been dying of thirst. I thought you weren't supposed to water carrots as they need to search for water and watering can cause forking. However they obviously need more than they have been getting. Does anyone else water their carrots and if so how much and how frequently?

Thank you

[rustylady]

You can water carrots, but if you do you need to give them a really good soak. That way there will be water below them for them to "search for". It's not water that causes forking, but fresh manure and stony soil.

[Two_Sheds]

Watering after a drought can cause splitting, not forking.

I haven't watered my carrots (apart from when sowing them) and they've been lovely (no rain since about April either)

[hamsterqueen]

I didn;t know you weren;t supposed to water carrots

No wonder I can never grow them!

[Crosbie]

I go by gut feel - if the soil is dry then a mild blast of water never does any harm. They are the least tended of all my vegetables yet they always come up trumps. Carrots have always been a British mainstay afterall...

Crosbie