Soil & Carrots

[digitS']

These pictures may not be entirely convincing but trust me on this one . The Sugarsnax carrots in the 1st picture are better in all sorts of ways than the Sugarsnax carrots in the 2nd picture:

The 2nd group of carrots had AAALLLL sorts of individual carrots that didn't make it out of the garden because they were so messed up! And, it isn't just because the carrots in the 2nd group grew with more rocks to twine themselves around - altho' that's part of it. They also split at much higher numbers.

Two beds, two different gardens -- two different soils!!

The soil isn't terribly, terribly different. The somewhat rocky soil that the 2nd group grew in is much more fertile. Yep. Tho' it wasn't fertilized this year, I've been doing lots of good things for that soil for a dozen years.

The soil for the 1st group had a little organic fertilizer added at the beginning of the season. Honestly, I don't think I could grow much of anything on that sandy ground without a little fertilizer. The important part is that this soil is "sandy" and not so rocky! Oh, and there's some rocks . This is the ground where I commonly break rototiller shear pins because I happen on big rocks so suddenly!

The other ground is more of a pea gravel garden . . . Tooooooo many small rocks!

I've read that microscopic soil nematodes are bad news for carrots, cause splitting for one thing. And, I've read that nematodes really like rocky ground. I think those dang critters are responsible for all the split carrots in my nice, fertile "pea gravel" garden :/.

(As far as my 3rd, "rock pile" garden . . . carrots had really best not go there at all .)

Steve

 

[Ridgerunner]

I had not heard about nematodes and rocks. Interesting.

I've also experienced that you need to be careful when weeding young carrots. If you disturb the carrot root, it can grow in funny shapes. Of course, you know where the really rooty grass and weed seed sprout. Right next to the carrot. And you need to thin them or they will wind around each other.

It has not been a good year for carrots with me. Both in the spring and for my fall crop, I had trouble getting them to sprout. Real wet in the spring and real hot and dry in the summer, so I had to replant both times. The spring crop was awful and I don't expect a lot out of the fall crop, but hope springs eternal.

 

[digitS']

Well, I didn't know about the weeding and crooked carrots, Ridgerunner . . .

I don't think that it could be a cause of all the splitting, tho'. . . . ?

That bed of carrots looks like a battlefield on pea gravel right now :/. Probably well over 10% split and then with the crooked ones - and, it is always that way in that ground. Sometimes, it's worse! This year, I deliberately did NOT fertilize there because of the idea that fertilizer may cause problems with growth. That obviously didn't help . . . not enuf, anyway.

Not only are the carrots in the sandy soil less likely to be crooked but I think there was only 1 split one out of that group on the basket.

I can work around the crookedness a little in the kitchen but the split carrots . . .

S'

 

[lesa]

Well, those are beautiful carrots, at any rate! I thought the nematodes were responsible for the mutant carrots- I get some that are like 3 or 4 carrots sprouting off one... I presumed the splitting was more of a water issue? I have almost no rocks in my garden soil (since I brought it all in) so it must be those nematodes can live without rocks, too! Nice harvest. Will you be burying them in your usual fashion?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't think that it could be a cause of all the splitting, tho'. . . . ?

No, I don't think splitting but definitely growing crooked.

I've had some that split a lot worse than others. They were planted maybe 25 feet apart in a garden with practically no rocks (Sorry about that for you, but not for me) but they were planted during different seasons. The ones that split so bad were Chantenay carrots. I usually go with Danvers. So maybe it was variety, maybe weather, maybe a random sunspot. I don't know for sure but Danvers are my staple now.

I thought Chantenay might do better than the Danvers in my hard clay, but not that time. I probably should try them again to see if it was a freak occurance but if something ain't broke, why fix it?

 

[vfem]

Well Steve, this is good knowledge to share. I don't have rocky soil, I have clay, and I can only grow the carrots in raised beds. I unfortunatley don't know how well mine will do this fall since I didn't even plant until the beginning of this month. A little late!

Split carrots are good for stocks.... Just chunk'em up and into the stock pot.

Which is usually why I save all my tops of veggies. I eventually fill up a gallon bag in the freezer and that all gets thrown in a stock pot. Sometimes its just straight veggie stock, other times I save up chicken bones in a separate bag and when that's fill I do them all with the veggies and have chicken stock.

I try not to waste any of it. Carrots are my crown jewel from the garden, and are a favorite around here. It took me 3 seasons of trying before we got our first batch of carrots to take. Now I won't waste a single golden root!

 

[digitS']

You are very clever, V! I have browned chicken bones in the oven to make the bestest chicken broth. For better carrots, I've just thrown more seed in more square feet and tossed a lot of carrots . . .

Two varieties of Chantenay were disasters for me. What I can usually do is get quick crops of real small varieties without much trouble. Nantes varieties seem to be the short-season shorties. I can't remember the last time I grew Danvers . . . nor, how they did.

Of course, fluctuations of soil moisture can be the big problem with splitting but I've been monitoring that fairly closely, Lesa. Once I start harvesting the potatoes (July in '10, early August in '11), I'm digging down 8 or 10 inches just a few beds away from the carrots. By the weight of the soil in my shovel, I've almost been doing too good of a job in that garden. The sandy soil garden dries out quickly - it has very few amendments worked into the soil.

Nematodes are everywhere, eating on everything! Here is what the University of Minnesota says about the ones I think are in abundance in my garden: "Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne species) form galls on injured plant tissue. The galls block water and nutrient flow to the plant, stunting growth, impairing fruit production, and causing foliage to yellow and wilt. Roots become rough and pimpled and susceptible to cracking." Rough . . . pimpled . . . cracked? Yeah, that sounds like what those carrots look like - as well as being forked, crooked and stubbed off .

The difference in soil between one place and the other has convinced me that I'd just better forget about growing the longer varieties in the pea gravel garden no matter what.

I will have to be digging a hole for winter carrot storage, Lesa. I can't resist growing carrots - and, we eat lots of them thru the winter ! Besides, tramping thru the snow and searching under the heavy cover of leaves for those "golden roots" - gives me something to do on a nice winter day !

Steve

 

[cityfarmer]

Great looking carrots! Maybe this is wrong but I use my split carrots in stews and soups. Carrots are usually the last thing I harvest and it is usually about the same time I start making stews and soups for the winter. This is also how I use the potatoes that somehow get to close to the shovel/fork during harvest.

 

[momofdrew]

did you know that tree leaves worked into the carrot garden in the fall make for great carrots next year...

My problem this year was spliting into double, triple and quadruple tips and very stubby...I put in Danvers and Chatenay and neither did well...Oh well I chopped them up and my chickens loved them...

 

[chris09]

Steve,

Forked roots can be caused by hard soil or rocks, overwatering, young roots in contact with fertilizer pellets or fresh manure, overcrowding and root knot nematodes. A young carrot has a root the thickness of a sewing thread and the growing tip will die and then fork when it encounters soil saturated with water (no oxygen)

http://www.mastergardenerssandiego.org/newsletter/article.php?ID=69

I don't think it is the root knot nematodes but here is a link on Northern Root-Knot Nematode on Carrot, Lettuce, and Onion.

http://fls.cals.cornell.edu/OCRPDF/156.pdf

Twisted roots indicate inadequate thinning. Forked or deformed roots usually mean the seedbed was not fine or loose enough or could indicate over watering. Hairy roots indicate excessive nitrogen and fertility. Do not use high-nitrogen fertilizer or fresh manure on carrot beds.

Chris