Organic Farmer Network: Network Discussion Summary

Topic: Carrots

Favorite Carrot varieties:

Ken grows Nelson carrots in the spring and Bolero in the fall.

Nelson does not do well as late season winter carrot for the Wiedigers

Nicolas loves Babette

Ellen loves Artist from Johnny’s

Cathy tried something new with her carrots: “Does anyone remember the farm we visited in Mobile [2003 SSAWG Conference] and how they grew carrots? They seeded 7 rows in a bed (3' wide) Well I thought that this looked like something to try. I especially thought that this might be a way to shade out weeds. We planted 5 rows in a little narrower bed. We wheel-hoed them twice and then we waited and waited and waited for them to size up. We are still waiting. Our first planting was Nelsons and Royal Chantenays (56 and 70 days respectively) planted on Feb. 26th (112 days ago), second planting a month later. We did get the Nelsons out of the ground three weeks ago (at 90 days), but I wasn't very happy with their size. We just pulled some of the Royal Chantenays and they were small. I figured that the [excessive] rain must have washed all the nitrogen away so I finally topdressed them the end of May. We use feathermeal for nitrogen (13%) so each 300 square feet bed got 4# initially, and then 4# more as a topdress.”

Tim fertilizes with sifted compost when the tops are 6 inches tall, just before a rain.  The amount he puts on depends on the carrot variety.  He grows chanteny red core, scarlet nantes and long imperator. The red core takes longer to mature, so gets more compost.   This year “we did not have any lightening storms for 86 days so we had no nitrogen.”  Therefore, he added a little blood meal to the compost he spread on the carrots.  “As I write this I have been pulling my carrot crop of nantes and imperators. This year about one third are smaller than normal, which I tend to believe is do to [our] lack of rain and thickly planted. I thinned as best as I could but will learn from this planting trail.”

His carrot beds are 2 feet wide by 80 feet long.  “Since my soil is black clay I have been adding granite sand and wash sand in very specific beds to really make them produce better.”  The beds were “hand dug, presprouted with weeds and weeded, then spread compost and greensand on the bed. I used my seeder to plant three rows four inches apart, then came back and lightly hand seeded between the rows.”