[sharky]

The only solution I can think of is digging a trench of the heavy soil and filling  it with the light soil found in grow bags.  :?

[corynsboy]

There is a carrot called Parmex which is round and loves a bit of clay.  

Compost and sand is a good bet for the trench, anything that will lighten the soil. If you are going to the trouble of getting the growbags, have you thought about container planting carrots instead?

Any short blunt carrots are good in heavy soils or container planting.  Get them high enough off the ground and you don't even need to worry about the carrot fly.

I had reasonable success with the Chanenay last year from quite shallow buckets.

http://growingyourownveg.blogspot.com/search/label/Roots

[Christine]

I'd go for containers this year and then work in the spent compost at the end of the season.

I'd also be looking to build the biggest compost heap in the world to work into the clay over the years as well as trying to see whether I could acquire well rotted manure to dig in.

Same problem with heavy clay and I've done better in pots with compost than in the ground.

[sharky]

I had considered containers, so I'll probably do that, but it's a cheat! In fact, digging a trench and filling it with light soil is also a cheat.  :cry:

[paintedlady]

Nah - it's not cheating, it's learning how to grow carrots and harvest near perfect ones instead of knarled, fanged and pathetic things you would feel too ashamed to let anyone see  

PS  I can highly recommend liming your clay soil  

[sharky]

PS  I can highly recommend liming your clay soil  

This is something I certainly need to do.  :oops:

[chrissie B]

i am growing some carrots in containers , feta tins , and they are a bit better than the ones i did in the ground .
  i once saw on tv some one growing them in huge water barrels they were for show of course and must have been 3 ft long .
my soil is chocka full of stones they just keep on coming up .
chrissie b

[woodburner]

I had considered containers, so I'll probably do that, but it's a cheat! In fact, digging a trench and filling it with light soil is also a cheat.  :cry:

Hmm so the only way to grow carrots without cheating is to move to somewhere that has no stones?       (Cambridgshire is carrot county, apparently, if you want to give it a go )

[sharky]

I had considered
containers, so I'll probably do that, but it's a cheat! In fact, digging a trench and filling it with light soil is also a cheat.  :cry:

Hmm so the only way to grow carrots without cheating is to move to somewhere that has no stones?       (Cambridgshire is carrot county, apparently, if you want to give it a go )

grow them carrots in the ground if kills me :twisted: moving to cambridgeshire. :shock:

[sharky]

If i'm being honest, no root veg will grow in my soil, it is far too heavy. Even the beetroot last season came out very small and disfigured.  :cry:

[paintedlady]

You WILL grow decent root veg sharky - I promise     It'll just mean a lot of extra work and careful planning, and probably not very good results at first, and then you'll dig a fantastic looking one up and want to show everyone.

Beetroot - I've mentioned this in earlier posts, is not treated like a carrot & parsnip, but treat it like leaf beet (perpetual spinach/chard) and dig in loads of manure     It needs a much higher nitrogen content in the soil to do well.

Parsnip - I sowed mine in loo rolls packed with sand/compost mix.  Meanwhile the bed I'd selected had been heavily limed the year before for growing swede (I have clubroot on my plot), and come spring the soil was amazingly crumbly (hence my recommendation).  I dug in a big bag of compost and bag of sand, added a bit more lime (for good luck) and then planted the whole loo roll and seedlings in the bed.  I've harvested some amazing parsnips this winter - absolute whoppers by my standards!  I chose White Gem as I 've been told they are better for heavy soil:



 

[Celtic Eagle]

Using containers for carrots isn't cheating it's good sense   we have had our best crops off container grown carrots you have more control and the growing medium can be tuned for best results

[matthew2riches]

Either use containers with a light mix in or take a trip down to the local DIY shop and buy some sand and cement (I mean compost).  Dig it in and it'll work wonders.

I had the same clay problem with the little ground I cleared last year but I planted them for the hell of it and I had them on my plate a little while later (odd shaped but who cares?).  I think them were Autumn King.

[woodburner]

I had considered
containers, so I'll probably do that, but it's a cheat! In fact, digging a trench and filling it with light soil is also a cheat.  :cry:

Hmm so the only way to grow carrots without cheating is to move to somewhere that has no stones?       (Cambridgshire is carrot county, apparently, if you want to give it a go )

grow them carrots in the ground if kills me :twisted: moving to cambridgeshire. :shock:

   

[yummy]

We have heavy clay. Lots of people on our plot make a small wooden trough or get an old wooden planter. They put growbags in it (on their sides and pack enough bags in so that they keep their shape) and sow carrots into those. They get lots of lovely long perfect carrots and the trough makes a good carrot fly barrier too.