Swedes,Carrots and Beetroot didnt swell, what did i do wrong?

[ugley_matt]

This year i grew carrots, sweed and beetroots. All of them germinated and produced leaves but when i went to pull them this week, apart from one swede none of them really swelled up at all. Same with the beetroot and carrots.

What did i do wrong?

[zazen999]

What did you actually do and when - and what soil do you have? We can't say what you may have done 'wrong' if we don't actually know what you did.

[ugley_matt]

doh, that would be helpful.

I grew them in raised beds with a good amount of compost and a dusting of blood fish and bone. the soil is dark, heavyish but drains well ,beds never get walked on.

the seed was sown as per the instructions, some I thinned others I let grow in clumps as I read that can also work but neither seemed to make much difference.

before I blame the weather or the seed I thought I would check-in it was me

[zazen999]

Any idea when you did this? Have the raised beds got home made compost or shop bought? Any topsoil in there? Or do you mean they are soil based with just a some compost [home made/shop bought?] Did they grow nice big leaves/foliage or not? Did you water in the very hot weather?

And what varieties? Did the packs give times of harvest from sowing?

I suspect lack of phosphorus and maybe watering issues from the hot spell.

[Two_Sheds]

I think they were probably too dry: my beets are small because of this, but my carrots are lovely because they did get a few buckets of water thrown at them

[Piggle]

I think they were probably too dry: my beets are small because of this, but my carrots are lovely because they did get a few buckets of water thrown at them

ha I have a vision of your carrots lined up and you throwing water on them like they do in the films when they are training marines......

[ugley_matt]

I didnt water them very often as it was so we over the summer here, that would make sense. They germinated fine and produced growth just not much down below as it were.

[solway cropper]

Matt, I think what you've discovered is that this gardening lark isn't always as easy as people make out. It's been a funny year and quite a few of my crops have underperformed. Carrots have been pathetic but swedes are like footballs. Potato yield was poor but cabbages are beauties. Every year is different so just hope for better next year.

If you used shop-bought compost with just a dusting of BFB there would be insufficient nutrients for a decent crop.

[Chef_uk]

were there any weeds competing nearby? raised beds so unlikely but any weeds that have grown next to my veg did slow their growth down and within 1 day of hoeing them the veg showed a great deal of growth. even the smallest of nettle had an effect.

[northepaul]

Could they possibly have been eaten by slugs? Have you noticed any holes or bite marks? In my raised bed at home, I cant grow any root veg as they get eaten before I pick them!