Growing carrots - successes and Failures

Growing Carrots – the failures and more importantly, the successes

Well, I’ve been trying to grow carrots for many years, always on totally unsuitable soil and it really isn’t my favourite vegetable! However, I do love a challenge and I can learn to love the vegetable which is a rarity – yes I know I can buy them in the supermarket for a couple of pounds a kilo but, that is not the same as growing them successfully and enjoying the produce from my allotment.

My ground is heavy clay though, the advantage is that there are few stones in this clay. One year, when we had appropriate weather in every month throughout the growing season [yes! it really did happen one year!], I spent hours digging a suitable trench using a small Chillington hoe [like a mattock !] breaking up the ground across my plot and wide enough to sow two rows of carrots – if I remember rightly it was a fairly reliable variety – Autumn King.

My crop was a brilliant success and I enjoyed this flavoursome variety for several weeks with no carrot root fly attacks until I had finished the crop – I was impressed with my success.

The following year – the weather was okay, allowing me to till the ground thoroughly at the right time and I tried again with the same variety as well as a couple of varieties suggested by my daughter who likes to explore new and different varieties [I tried white carrots – Blanc a Colet Vert and purple carrots – Purple Haze]. The maincrop variety – Autumn King was ripped apart by carrot root fly and the crop was totally useless although I had prepared the ground thoroughly to encourage good germination, establishment and growth. The purple carrots had not been attacked so badly and the white carrots – not at all.

The white carrots were able to stay in the ground over several months, into winter and grew to about 25 – 30 cm [10 -12 inches] in length with little carrot fly damage. I found that as the winter progressed the roots became tougher and woodier and in frosty weather were difficult to dig up with some slug damage in the early spring.

The story goes that carrot root fly don’t fly above 30cm [12 inches]. Well, I’m here to tell you that carrot root fly have not read the manual!

A friend – who did love his carrots – built me a ‘carrot box’ on legs, which sits a metre [39 inches] above ground [of course, if we believe what the experts tell us, this will really beat them. The box is 1 metre wide and 1½ metres long. I filled it with new, good quality compost and sowed a couple of varieties of carrots – 5 rows in total. The germination was excellent, I thinned carefully and harvested when the carrots were at their best – but! they were full of carrot root fly larvae! Since then [I use the ‘carrot box’ as a seedbed for brassicas or lettuces].

Over successive years, I have prepared my seedbeds carefully, covered with environmesh, covered with netting [last year the pigeons ate the tops off my emerging crops!], sown fly resistant varieties, protected from slugs but, all

with variable success.

I continue, undaunted! And of course, the carrots become more useful and more delicious as a consequence.

My friend and colleague, Pete, told me he grows his carrots successfully in his poly tunnel [although his poly-tunnel is very much larger than mine – therein lies a problem – crops in greenhouses and poly-tunnels must be watered and on most allotments, that means carrying the water – the larger the greenhouse/poly-tunnel the more watering must be done on a very regular basis].

This year, I have grown a couple of rows of carrots in my poly tunnel – Early Nantes. They have been brilliant, providing me with a crop as I was planting my tomato crops into the same ground as the carrots were harvested and the tomatoes were planted. This worked well [well, this year anyway!] and I was able to harvest thinnings; early carrots; and really chunky but, tender roots while the tomato plants were developing. This was a good system except for the fact that I leave the door of my poly-tunnel open as soon as the risk of frost has passed and carrot root fly has attacked the roots closest to the doorway.

I assume they will now be aware of my poly-tunnel and will attack all crops there.

I have sown white carrots on my plot – Crème de Lite – which have been attacked aggesssively by pests leaving 2mm holes in the roots – is this really a super carrot root fly or something else?

This year, I sowed a couple of large tubs of mixed carrots – Purple Haze and Ideal Red [which is amazingly orange coloured] in my back garden. They have been brilliant – tender, delicious and flavoursome. I could almost be persuaded to think of carrots as my new best vegetable! Perhaps carrot root fly have not yet discovered this part of Bristol!

However, while the ground conditions might not defeat me, it is possible that carrot root fly will succeed. Any and all advice would be really appreciated.

Autumn 2011 - using autumn vegetables

Using Autumn and winter vegetables

Now it is the end of October and the very start of November (gosh! Where did the summer disappear to? I think the poor, wet summer has misled us all somewhat).

Yes, there have been disappointments – my brassicas and beans have been miserable (I’ve been saying that all season, I am so boring!). My onions were great, I still had too many beans and tomatoes and, let’s face it fruit has been brilliant this year. But every year is going to give us different conditions when some crops will be great and some will be disappointing or a complete failure. We need to look at what is not worth pursuing and what is worth having another try at in, hopefully, different conditions.

This year my new try-outs were West Indian gherkins, outside grown physalis and several different varieties of carrots. The gherkins and physalis were a complete waste of time. Unfortunately, when I grew them in my polytunnel, although they were brilliant and very productive, they also took over the whole tunnel.

I have grown a variety of carrots in a variety of situations. Yet again, I have grown some in a raised box – 1 metre off the ground and in bought-in compost. Yet again, this has not been particularly successful. Both Purple Haze and Flyaway have been attacked by carrot fly by the end of the season for not very productive crops - so much for the myth that carrot root fly can't fly above 30cms!

For carrots - I have grown 2 rows of ‘Blanc a collet vert’ straight into the ground which have given me superb roots, albeit attacked by rootfly. There are still enough of good-enough roots to eat for some-time yet. The best crops, sown March to April were in a raised bed (only 10cms up) of Creme de Lite, Flyaway and Resitafly. The Creme de Lite have been the star of the season – super huge roots, particularly tender and, although not totally resistant to root fly, they have given me a crop I can continue to use – brilliant!

Beetroots have been amazing this year – head-sized roots which are still tender and usable – surprisingly. This year I have only sown one crop and as it did particularly well, I didn’t re-sow. Now I have so many, I feel I must use them before the bitter winter we have been forecast kicks in. I guess, now that we are preparing for it, this amazingly cold winter won’t happen. You know what they say – You hope for the best but, prepare for the worst!

I have only ever used beetroots for pickles, chutneys or soups. This year I have tried them as a vegetable. I have steamed them - unfortunately, for my super large roots, they have taken some time to steam but, what a delicious and colourful vegatable. And, of course, if you are using smaller specimens they won't take so long to cook.

What can we do with these ‘winter’ vegetables? Try the following for nutritious, wholesome and low calorie soups:

Beetroot Soup

Allow ⅓ pint (190ml) approx per portion when served as a starter. When served as a main dish (eg lunch with a chunk of country or homemade bread, increase the quantity)

4 medium to large beetroots                                     1½ pts vegetable stock

2 leeks                                                                     Juice of 1 lemon

2 tomatoes                                                               1 tsp sugar

1 tsp tomato paste                                                    1 apple

fromage frais and chopped chives to garnish               seasoning

Method

·         Peel and grate the beetroots.

·     Trim the leeks and wash well to remove any grit or soil from the vegetable. Chop into fairly small pieces.

·         Peel and chop the tomatoes.

·         Peel and core the apple, then chop into fairly small pieces.

·         Put all the prepared vegetables and apples into a heavy pan that you can cover.

·         Add the stock and bring to the boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer gently until the beetroot is soft. This will probably take about 1 hour.

·         Add the tomato paste, lemon juice and seasoning (salt and pepper) to taste.

·         Serve with a dollop of fromage frais or cream in the middle and garnish with chopped chives.

Leek, Potato and Cauliflower soup

Ingredients

1 medium cauliflower                                      4 - 5 good sized leeks

½ Kilo ( 1 lb) potatoes (not new)                    3 – 4 cloves of garlic – well chopped or crushed

1 red onion – finely chopped                          1 litre (2pints) vegetable or chicken stock

1 cup white wine                                               Salt – to taste

Freshly crushed black pepper                         Chopped parsley to decorate

½ tsp finely chopped lemon thyme                Double cream to decorate

Method

·         Slice or shred the leeks then wash well to remove any soil or dirt ( personally, I like the green parts of leeks so, I keep in as much of this part of the leeks as possible).

·         Peel the potatoes and cut into fairly small pieces.

·         Cut the cauliflower into small florets and wash well.( make sure there are no hidden slugs)

·         Peel the garlic and chop finely.

·         Peel and slice finely or chop the onion.

·         Add the oil or oil and butter to a large saucepan or soup pan and heat.

·         Add the prepared vegetables and sweat (cook gently without browning).

·         Add the wine and stock and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat until it is just simmering, until all the vegetables are soft - about 40 mins.

·         If you are going to add herbs, use with discretion. This soup has a fairly delicate flavour which can be overpowered with too many herbs. I like a little lemon thyme.

·         Add the salt and pepper.

·         Put through a food processor if you have one – a hand held processor is excellent for this job. If you don’t have one, sieve the soup through a coarse sieve.

·         Return to the heat and correct the seasoning to taste ( salt and pepper)

·         Serve with chopped parsley and a swirl of cream – personally, I don’t add cream or more fat where it is not necessary.

This is a simple, wholesome and cheap soup. I have added lots of ingredients which enhance the flavour but, are not necessary. Leek and potato soup is excellent – just make sure the seasoning is right.

Serve with a sprinkle of chopped parsley and a hunk of wholemeal bread. Enjoy!

Autumn harvesting

I have just returned from a reasonably long holiday in Andalucia (southern Spain) well! It was long for me anyway, I’m not usually away for more than a couple of days. I returned in the middle of the night to a cat in tears as he had been mauled by (apparently) another cat and was desperately in need of a vet. Although not injured, my other cats were equally upset. They so put the guilt trip on me! Really I hadn’t left them unattended. My cat carer is very competent and kind, just not the person they wanted.

It is autumn. When I visited my plot I was dismayed by how overgrown it was. Grass paths are rampant, weeds have taken over, caulis have overgrown, cucumbers are overripe, runner beans are too mature, tomatoes are too, too many.

I have collected several buckets full of several varieties of tomatoes and have found homes for most of them, not least, several more tubs of frozen tomato pulp for use in the winter. I’ve noticed that the runner-bean poles on the plots of many of my neighbours have fallen over. Mine would have too if I hadn’t propped them up but, in any case, the beans are not worth harvesting – too mature, too stringy, too hard. No worries, I will dismantle the canes and compost the rest of the crop. I have already harvested and dried my Borlotto beans. They are good, though I think I will look for a climbing variety next year – so much easier to dry for winter use. I see that my Yinyang (Orca) beans are almost ready. I worry that the weather might be too damp for successful drying. I have not seen climbing varieties of these beans but, when they lie on the ground in damp weather they are more likely to go mouldy.

There is a load of stuff to deal with now. I have harvested most of my squashes and pumpkins. Really I’m not interested in the huge varieties for competitions, nor the large pretty ones for Hallowe’en lanterns. I am looking for the small fruits which will store easily for use as a winter vegetable. My favourites are butternut squashes. This year the germination rate was not good and from a couple of plants I have ended up with only 4 squashes. If you do have a good crop you mean to store, make sure they are dry and store in a frost free environment out of direct sunlight. Check them regularly for rot and don’t store in direct sunlight, on a wooden or on a carpeted surface. If they do break down they will destroy those surfaces. I intend to store mine in a dark attic room on top of cardboard. I do hope they will last for the winter as they are staple vegetable for winter.

Talking about staples for winter, I have now lifted all my potatoes including my Sarpo Mira and Sarpo Axona which are both late maincrops. When lifting them, separate the damaged ones – slug damaged or by digging implement - and use these immediately as they will not keep and will damage your stored potatoes. Make sure they are dry before you store them in hessian or paper sacks and store in cool, dark frost free conditions. Mine are going into my attic room. Gosh, it is going to be packed when I have finished. Hopefully they will keep well into the new year, unless I have eaten them all first.

For the first time, this year, I have enough carrots to store. Goodness, this has never happened to me before. I do have some damage from carrot root-fly but, I have been harvesting Purple Haze from my raised carrot bed with little damage. Although not huge roots, they have excellent texture and flavour. My Resistafly and Flyaway have been good, although, obviously I hadn’t prepared the bed well enough as the carrots, although excellent flavour and strong roots are really very forked.

My carrots – Creme de Lite (F1 from Dobies) planted straight into a well prepared bed on the flat ground have been excellent. There has been some carrot root fly damage but the carrots have been huge, flavoursome and tender. I do recommend them. I will leave them in the ground as long as I can manage. I’m not yet sure how I will store them. If the winter is going to be as bad as has been predicted then I don’t think that a sand-pit or my shed will suffice. They might also have to go in bags in my attic room.