The Carrot Challenge - Grow carrots with me in 2016!!

[veggiechicken]

Thanks Pene Good to hear your experiences.
I'll see how they look at 12 weeks and if they're still carrotlings, I'll keep sowing until they're worthwhile.
When is your first and last sowing made?

[Penellype]

Last year this is what I did at home (at my friend's the carrots were sown into the soil, which is never as good as the slugs get at them):
20 Feb sowed 2 small pots Nantes Frubund Fastcrop - harvested when small from 3 Jun to 24 Jun.
10 Mar sowed 18" square pot Marion - harvest from 19 Jun (finger width) to 29 Aug when a decent size.
24 Mar sowed 18" square pot Nantes Frubund Fastcrop - harvest from 5 Jul. Just about finished harvesting these - the biggest were about 2 inches across and 8 inches long.
2 Apr sowed 18" square pot Autumn King - harvest from 24 Oct to 4 Jan. Disappointingly short carrots, possibly due to using old seed (grown only for 100 variety challenge).
9 Apr sowed 18" square pot Eskimo - started harvesting at beginning of Feb. Medium sized carrots.
11 May sowed Nantes Frubund Fastcrop in the same pot as the earlier ones, to fill in gaps. Harvesting these now, obviously rather smaller than the earlier ones.
16 May sowed 30 litre pot Nantes 2 - harvested from 3 Sep (finger sized). These did not grow very big as I sowed them too thickly. (This is a variety I normally grow only at my friend's house - these were grown at home only for the 100 variety challenge).
21 May sowed 30 litre pot Marion - harvested 17 Sep to 13 Oct, carrots were small due to being sown too thickly.
20 Jul sowed 18" square pot Marion - carrots appear to be about finger thickness but have not yet been disturbed.

Bear in mind that all my carrots are grown in fairly heavy shade (especially the Eskimo, which got the worst deal last year). They might grow quicker and would probably be bigger if grown in the sun.

[veggiechicken]

Thanks! They're taking a lot longer to grow than I expected Looks like I need 16 buckets on the go

[KevinM67]

Yep, I'm up for the carrot/bucket challenge.
I won't start until next month though, as I'll be growing outdoors.
Still, I will sow 2 bucket's worth each week for a period of 10 weeks.
I'm looking forward to it as I've failed miserably over the years trying to grow them in the ground.

[Bigmallly]

Although I am not joining you in your challenge, I think you are a bit optimistic & would sow one bucket every 2 weeks for 20 weeks. I think 12 weeks is too soon.

[Potstubsdustbins]

#4 As one of the greats once said "Ones mans pet is another mans..............Dinner"

[Bal]

I'll join in but I will struggle to do a sowing a week, might have to make it fortnightly.

[Ryleh]

I will give this a go, I wanted to have a go at growing carrots anyway

Just need to grab some appropriate buckets.

[Nannysally99]

Lucky me, who normally has no probs with carrots in very long purpose built container, has decided to on them in flower buckets this year.
One every three weeks would be about right for us.
Also, not doing winter carrots this year.

[jonny the plant pot]

I'm going to use sifted soil/compost. Think you can use builder's sand in the mix if you have any.

You want to use grit sand. Builders sand is too dense

[Lisasbolt]

That is a lot of carrots VC, hope you like them, but then again lots of peeps will buy a bag a week and the pups might like them.
I tried a similar thing last year and it went terribly wrong, i used 8 litre water bottles (with lots of holes) in the hope of baby carrots nope it got far too hot and they all died.

I have a few spare pots and 1000´s of different seeds so might give it a go but summer months i will have to back out

[Lumpy]

What a lovely little Chicken you are VC..................

Another excuse to get more buckets....................

One MFB every 3 weeks would suit us fine so I only need another 63 buckets..................Oh dear a typing error.................Please don't tell HIM as he has started to blache when he spots me mooching around the flower aisle.

Nantes 5, Eskimo, Artemis and Romance it is then..............now should I use 1 bucket per carrot variety............ummmmmm!

[Gillykat]

Ooooh I'm in!

Grew my first carrots last summer in the polytunnel and had a vole eat all the tops Caught vole and removed from tunnel and carrots regrew. Got some lovely sweet small ones and left others in but they ended up with a touch of carrot fly....not that hubby noticed as I just trimmed the maggoty top bits off...what he doesn't know cannot hurt him haha.

I'd actually planned to try growing them in tubs this year and as the previous tenant of my plot has conveniently left a few flower buckets I can get started soon. Won't be until next weekend though as I've ran out of compost!

Had a dig in my seed tub and found three varieties ~ Chantenay Red Cored 2, Royal Chantenay 3 and Flyaway F1. What varieties are we all trying?

[Small pumpkin]

I will play. I've found some flower buckets. Think I will be sowing fortnightly and using 10 buckets. As I have 10 varieties of carrots.

[planetologist]

Also, not doing winter carrots this year.

It certainly takes all kinds. Winter carrots is the only thing I grow. I really like them, but after a winter and spring of eating carrots I'm glad I can eat something else for half a year.