Harvesting Carrots — ediblegardens52

Apr 30

Apr 30 Harvesting Carrots

This week was the time to harvest my carrots planted in mid-October though I’ve been pulling carrots for several months as I thinned the crop.

These petite carrots were pulled three months after planting. They were sweet and tender and I added them to salads and stir-fry.

In the fall I planted three different carrots: Bolero Nantes, Tricolor Circus Circus and Purple Sun, all from Renee’s Garden. The seeds were broadcast in six inch bands and because of weather conditions and a new method to keep the soil shaded and damp, germination was excellent.

Then I became a lazy carrot gardener. did not, in a disciplined fashion, thin the robust crop though I regularly pulled carrots for kitchen uses.

I harvested these Bolero carrots five months after planting. Now at six months and with warmer weather, I gathered seven pounds of carrots this week from a 2 by 4 foot planting.

Here’s some of the booty in a cardboard box before washing and sorting by size and color. There are easily another two or three pounds still in the ground. The soil is very loose so those smaller carrots that remain were pushed back in and watered well. They should finish well with less competition.

I will store my washed and dried carrots in the produce drawer in plastic containers. This method worked well last year and I had carrots for many months. To read an expert discussion on harvesting carrots, check one of my online garden mentors at Harvest to Table. If you’re planning to store carrots in sand or sawdust in a cool location, be sure to read through the comments.