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Carrots for next year

• Message 1. 

  Posted by grandcottagegardener (U14258183) on Wednesday, 20th October 2010

  I never seem to have much luck with root vegetables. Soil is heavy clay, but has been broken down with a mix of compost and well rotted manure. Soil is no longer sticky, heavy clay, and I'm able to pull root crops with a minimum of effort. It's taken quite a few years to get the soil this way.
  
  Out of all the root vegetables that I'm keen to grow is carrots, but whatever I do they never seem to amount to much. I have grown them in the garden and have also grown them in super large containers filled with compost, but the result is always the same i.e. carrots no more than 3ins long. Either I am doing something wrong or I am choosing the wrong variety.
  
  Any advice or suggestions as to the right variety for decent sized carrots would be much appreciated.

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Stressed out (U11163734) on Wednesday, 20th October 2010

  Just get a black plastic bin drill some holes in the bottom. Fill with a bag of compost and a bag of sharp sand (mixed)
  No carrot fly as its well above the ground, easy to water and pick and you get great long carrots.
  We had seed from the canary islands this year and they were very sweet

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• Message 3

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  Posted by grandcottagegardener (U14258183) on Wednesday, 20th October 2010

  RC - can you remember the variety you sowed? Hadn't thought about including sharp sand. Is it a half and half ratio?

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• Message 4

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  Posted by Stressed out (U11163734) on Wednesday, 20th October 2010

  grandcottagegardener
  RC - can you remember the variety you sowed? Hadn't thought about including sharp sand. Is it a half and half ratio? 
  Sorry just had a look in the fridge and the OH must have sown them all. I do know that they were only 1 euro for the packet and we are going to pick some more up in February
  We had them on salads over there and they were very good.
  As for the sharp sand it was about 50/50
  The other thing we did was put a metal bread tray over the top to keep the cats and the birds off until they came up
  Make sure it is level and we sat it on a sheet of plastic (compost bag split in half) so the worms did not get in
  Only good thing is I have just been through her stash of seed in the fridge...............
  I have to keep all my seed in an old fridge outside, its just not fair

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• Message 5

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  Posted by grandcottagegardener (U14258183) on Thursday, 21st October 2010

  Thanks for the ratio info RC. Will definately try this next year, and I will bear in mind some form of mesh covering.
  
  Just need the name of a good main crop carrot now. I'm determined to get a decent sized crop next year.

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• Message 6

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  Posted by As_Iff (U13951957) on Thursday, 21st October 2010

  I`m really pleased that you two had this conversation about carrots, GCG and RC, because it will help me, too.
  Thank you.

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• Message 7

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  Posted by ramfan (U14450839) on Thursday, 21st October 2010

  Hi,I grow carrots on clay soil by sowing them in horticultural sand. I scoopout a wide drill with a trowel and fill it with sand and then sow the seed. I then cover with mesh and leave them, I don't thin them as this may encourage carrot fly. I have been successful for the past 3 years and had some lovely carrots.

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• Message 8

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  Posted by grandcottagegardener (U14258183) on Thursday, 21st October 2010

  Hi Ramfam - when you scoop out a drill how deep do you go before infilling with sand. The sand concept is completely new to me and I would like to do an experiment to see what does better i.e. 50/50 soil and sand v sand only.
  
  What variety of carrot do you grow?

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• Message 9

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  Posted by koala_girl (U12702629) on Saturday, 23rd October 2010

  GCG - I grew carrots in one of my recycling boxes. It meant that they were up away from the carrot fly and they grew really well. I have tried growing them in the ground before and it never worked very well. This year I actually had carrots which looked like carrots I grew "Early Nantes 2". A couple of weeks ago I sowed some "Nantes Fruband" in the same box as they overwinter and will give an early crop next year.

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• Message 10

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  Posted by madeleineR (U14451255) on Monday, 25th October 2010

  If you sow Nantes Freuband now in re-cylcling boxes, do you cover them with fleece or anything or put them anywhere special?

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• Message 11

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  Posted by koala_girl (U12702629) on Tuesday, 26th October 2010

  The carrot seedlings are about an inch high now and I have covered them with fleece, but they are still out on the patio.

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• Message 12

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  Posted by Sallen (U14485428) on Thursday, 28th October 2010

  I'm a Nantes girl to and grew the dig in chantey variety, had my first real success this year in the ground and in a collapsable bag! Companion planted in the ground with spring onion and radish to confuse the fly! The key may be water to getting some length, I watered mine every evening when doing the greenhouse this year!

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