Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: vegmandan on July 20, 2008, 21:45

Title: Carrots in heavy soil.
Post by: vegmandan on July 20, 2008, 21:45

Just to prove you CAN grow decent carrots on a heavy(ish) clay soil. :D

Had to rotavate the hell out of the soil early on mind you.

(http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii247/vegdan/DSC01220.jpg)

Title: Carrots in heavy soil.
Post by: Trillium on July 20, 2008, 21:51

Carrots will grow in almost any soil, just that the looser the soil is, the easier it is for roots to grow. Like you, I too must rotovate my heavy soil a lot. Yearly I add loads of shredded leaves and manure. I don't find the manure causes forking, but rocks and rock hard soil do.

Title: Carrots in heavy soil.
Post by: jack russell on July 20, 2008, 23:17

nice carrots dan they are a testament to your hard work :wink:

Title: Carrots in heavy soil.
Post by: mashbintater on July 20, 2008, 23:30

Wow, they're lovely! VERY well done  :D
 I mustn't transplant my thinnings next time, now I know not to  :oops:   :lol:

Title: Carrots in heavy soil.
Post by: Jeanieblue on July 21, 2008, 00:26

We're proud of our carrots, but they're not as big as yours. The grandchldren are visiting for a week and we can't wait to see their faces as they pull carrots, dig potatoes, pick and pod broad beans ... we've saved some carrots in a trough especially, so that they don't decimate the whole patch down the lottie!

Title: Carrots in heavy soil.
Post by: green fingers on July 22, 2008, 19:03

Well I cant grow carrots in heavy soil.  Have sown a couple of rows and what with rabbits digging them up and the OH standing on them(!) have precisely 3 carrots growing and I think you could safely call them "baby carrots" :roll:

Title: Carrots in heavy soil.
Post by: Jeanieblue on July 24, 2008, 02:30

If it helps, we grew ours under green debris netting rescued from a skip. It works a treat, letting in rain and light and keeping out ufffos (unwanted feathered flying nd furry objects!). I dug our heavy soil as well as I could and then added a bag of compost to lighten things up a bit.