I'm still pulling more of the Carrots I have been growing in the big Woodblocx raised bed. Each time I pull about 250 or 300 grams, which is just about right for two servings. I sowed three different varieties in the same bed, but I marked which ones went where, so I know these are "Early Nantes".
They're still coming up clean as a whistle, with no fly damage at all, and the best news is that there are more to come! They seem to be really liking the soil conditions in that bed, which is filled mainly with home-made compost to which I added lots of sand. I obviously got the soil texture right, because none of the carrots have forked, and their skins are practically blemish-free.
You can appreciate them better when they are washed:
They are quite "stocky" - short and fat - which makes this variety very suitable for growing in raised beds, since these often don't have a huge depth of soil.
The thing which has made the most difference for me this time is the Enviromesh with which these carrots have been covered. It has kept the Carrot Root Fly out completely. There is no damage at all. My only reservation about the mesh is that it does cut down the amount of air and light that the plants beneath it get, which might be a problem sometimes.
Not this time though. I'm really happy with these!
Beautiful carrots. I also like covering my carrots. The carrot fly is terrible here. I'm using netting though from the fabric store. It isn't made for the garden so it degrades in the sunlight. Recently I've taken them off as the holes were growing. So this fall I have couple of spots of damage on a few carrots. But mostly they are good. I'll have to remember not to reuse the netting from my spring carrots on my fall carrots. It just can't take a whole year in the sun.
ReplyDeleteThey look fabulous. You've obviously cracked carrot growing now.
ReplyDeleteMy carrots have not been good this year but yours look terrific
ReplyDeleteMust admit I don't notice a lack of light when I stick my head under enviromesh to weed.
ReplyDeleteI love homegrown carrots - yours look wonderful! And I think that the best part about them - other than the amazing taste, of course - is that their skin is so subtle that you don't even have to peel them - just a good scrub and off you go!
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