Wonderings

[chris]

Sorry, 'aint read the rest of the post - got the carrots part and thought I'd reply before readnig the rest

When I grew in "good" soil, I ended up with hairy carrots! too much N probably, just a bit more of a faff to peel, but bar that, they were fine.

[Two_Sheds]

I don't have time to read your replies so I'm probably going to repeat some of the advice here

Carrots, what happens to carrots if i plant them in fertilised soil?

They may end up forked & twisted, or very hairy

I have some brassicas ... stripped bare by tiny caterpillars, will the caterpillars die with the frost and the plants then recover or should I compost the lot

You get nothing if you give up now. I don't think you'll get cauliflowers or nice hearted cabbages, but you will get some cabbage leaves growing from the stumps

You need to cover your brassicas with mesh, all year round. It's a faff, but otherwise you get caterpillars

Chard, I have some lovely swiss chard, but what can i do with it?

basically, you treat it like spinach. Shred some into soups, curries etc.

Don't try eating it on its own, or you'll never grow it again, and it's a real giver

Dhalias, can i cover them with compost and leave them or must I lift and store the tubers, we have very mild winters here.

that depends if your soil gets waterlogged. Dahlias will rot if they sit in the wet. I leave mine in situ and they come back every year, but my soil is basically sand

[BUFFS]

Garlic - I'd ditch the dodgy ones if you have others to replace them.
Carrots - the lore has always been that rich beds make carrots fork - but I think I read that the thoughts on this were changing. I'd do it (cover in fleece/environmesh though to stop the carrot fly.
Brassicas - surprisingly able to recover from setbacks, I'd leave those to see if they come back
Blowaway - can you anchor it to anything nearby with rope, or peg it down?
Chard - small leaves, stir fry or steam. Large leaves, cut the stems off and boil/steam for longer than the leaf bits. I'm not keen - just tastes 'green' to me.
Dahlias - I'd be worried that they'd rot if left in cold wet soil, but I'm no expert there.

we lost our "blowaway" greenhouse to nearly 100mph winds some years ago, even though it was weighed down with 2 full sized road kerb stones, over 100lbs each, as for dahlias, I left mine in the border some 6 yrs ago now and even after -16deg winters they have still survived, so it may be just pot luck to get a toughie...

[BUFFS]

Garlic - I'd ditch the dodgy ones if you have others to replace them.
Carrots - the lore has always been that rich beds make carrots fork - but I think I read that the thoughts on this were changing. I'd do it (cover in fleece/environmesh though to stop the carrot fly.
Brassicas - surprisingly able to recover from setbacks, I'd leave those to see if they come back
Blowaway - can you anchor it to anything nearby with rope, or peg it down?
Chard - small leaves, stir fry or steam. Large leaves, cut the stems off and boil/steam for longer than the leaf bits. I'm not keen - just tastes 'green' to me.
Dahlias - I'd be worried that they'd rot if left in cold wet soil, but I'm no expert there.

with the chard you should get some minced pork, add some peppers/onions/grated carrots, stir/mix together and roll a chard leaf around a large spoonful, put them on a tray and bake, they taste really good together....enjoy..

[Penellype]

A few things that might be wrong with the garlic here...
What’s Wrong with My Garlic? : Barbolian Fields
and here...
What's wrong with my plant? : Garden : University of Minnesota Extension