[hebridean]

Hi Guys,

I'm a novice gardener from the other hebrides. Just started my veg plot a few years ago. I grow broccoli, cabbage, swede, cauliflower, sprouts, leeks, beetroot, lettuce all from seed also potatoes all my veg is "organic"  but I have problems growing carrots and parsnips. Anyone got any idea's why?

[Yorkie]

Welcome to the site 

I'm going to pop you over to Grow Your Own for some veggie people to have a look at your question, but feel free to pop back into the Welcome forum to introduce yourself and for a proper welcome 

[daisy1990]

what problems are you experiencing?  Carrots dont like being in stony ground (if the end of the carrot hits  stone it will fork (ie split in two) and they dont like to be in soil recently fertilised.  Carrot fly (causes holes) can be a major problem, using varieties like flyaway can help or planting in raised beds can help (this is alos useful if your soil is stony as you can remove stones in the raised bed.  Parsnips I always find really easy so not sure what your problem may be?

[hebridean]

Yeah, they just don't come on. sometimes they do split, but just don't grow to any size. I'm thinking my soil isn't tilled enough? to firm maybe? was talking to another gardener who suggested growing a shorter type of carrot?  raised bed's is an option I've been toying with

[Yorkie]

Are you watering enough?  Are they shelted from wind?

You could try adding some fertiliser (not nitrogen or potash based, the other main one whose name escapes me temporarily  ) before planting, to encourage the 'roots' too.

[daisy1990]

If the soil isn't very deep raised beds are a great option.  The physical barrier (if you use wood to retain the soil) is a good deterrent for carrot fly.  The short length of carrot (Chantonnay- probably spelled wrong!) is easy to grow and very tasty (if you boil them in a stock cube and knob of butter they are to die for!)

Good Luck

[JayG]

If the carrot fly haven't attacked your parsnips and carrots and everything else grows well then assuming you have not tried to grow them in a particularly unfavourable part of the plot it is probably either very stony or shallow soil causing the problem.

If you go for the raised bed solution it needs to be at least 2' 6" and preferably 3' clear of the surrounding land to work effectively, otherwise you will need environmesh or similar to protect at least the carrots (parsnips get varying degrees of canker as a result of carrot fly attack which can be a nuisance whereas carrots can virtually disappear!) 

Although fresh manure does cause forking of the roots that doesn't mean you should starve them either! 

[Kleftiwallah]

zazen999, I think you mean Phostrogen.  Phosphorus would untill you came to water your crops ! ! !  Cheers,   Tony.

[someoneorother]

zazen999, I think you mean Phostrogen.  Phosphorus would untill you came to water your crops ! ! !  Cheers,   Tony.

No, he means phosphorus. Phostrogen is a brand of fertiliser (which isn't particularly high in phosphorus or nitrogen, compared ot potassium. :shrug:)

[someoneorother]

zazen999, I think you mean Phostrogen.  Phosphorus would untill you came to water your crops ! ! !  Cheers,   Tony.

No, he means phosphorus. Phostrogen is a brand of fertiliser (which isn't particularly high in phosphorus or nitrogen, compared ot potassium. :shrug:)

He is a she

Oops, sorry

[hebridean]

I never watered on a regular basis either because it was raining a fair amount. Some old boy said not to water to often so the root goes deeper in search of water, is that rite? how about 
starting the seeds off in toilet roll tubes? 

[Yorkie]

Sounds as though the watering wasn't a problem.  It's true that frequent light watering is not good news for plants - their roots stay near the top of the soil and are thus less drought tolerant.

There are mixed opinions regarding germination anywhere other than the soil.  Always make sure there is enough depth for the tap root to develop and ensure it isn't damaged when planting out.

[littlelisa]

Hi Hebridean

I've never had much success with carrots - they seem to be quite finicky about the kind of soil they like. From my understanding, the soil has to be very well enriched but also sufficiently finely tilled with plenty of sand for drainage. When I had an allotment in the UK it had loads of clay in it - great for water retention, but too hard for my carrots, which never got going. Now I'm in S. Africa, and the soil out here is much drier and sandier (Cape Town is basically built on beachsand!!!) and I still don't bother with carrots cos they don't seem to like this soil either! My advice would be: find someone that grows carrots and examine their soil composition really closely, and try create soil that imitates theirs! Oh, and water....

L