How long can I keep carrots in the garden?

[trunkman]

I live in zone 7b and we have had two nights of upper 20's temps, I still have carrots in the garden still and they still look great. What I want to know is when should I pick them or just leave them, am I risking losing them?

 

[lesa]

You can keep them out there- even if you have to dig them up in the snow! They also keep for a really long time in the fridge- if you want to bring them in.

 

[digitS']

I bet what Lesa says about digging out of snow is right, Trunkman.

Do you have any pine needles down there in South Carolina? I understand it is called "pine straw" in some locations . Raking some up around your carrots may be all that it takes to be totally sure of protection from any cold.

I've got about 12" of pine needles, over about 8" of soil, over a good lot of carrots - not far from my kitchen door. I'm not the least worried about sub-zero weather damaging those carrots.

Steve

 

[hoodat]

They'll stay fresh a lot longer in the ground than they will stored any other way. A heavy mulch will help if your ground freezes rock hard in Winter.

 

[BetterHensandGardens]

Not only will they stay fresh a lot longer stored in the ground, many will develop a sweeter flavor if overwintered in the ground.

 

[trunkman]

Wow, that's great, thanks for the great info everyone! I'll mulch them with about a foot of leaves till I need them. I never knew I could do that....

 

[Chickie2378]

I am NC and my carrots never did well. No matter how soft and nice I made my soil...they never took off for me.
Are you doing anything special in SC to get those carrots? just wondering.

 

[nachoqtpie]

We tried carrots last year and they never came up! We live in NC as well and I think it was we just put them in the ground waaaaaaaaaay too late to get a carrot crop.

We're going to try again this year and maybe even get 2 crops out of it! :-D

 

[GreeneGarden]

Also, certain varieties are bred to store in the ground better:
Thumbalina, Autumn King, James Scarlet Intermediate, Saint Valery, and F1 Merida

http://www.gardenfornutrition.org/

 

[catjac1975]

Until the ground freezes solid. YOu might be able to mulch them with a bale of hay and keep them indefinitely. You can also dig them and store them in a cool place. I use a clean trash can and layer them with hay.