[pete-chrissie]

Hello everyone.
 Finally got our allotment after waiting nearly 12 years
Luckily its only half an allotment, Im glad its not too big as this is enough for us to manage, as age & poor health have taken their toll on both my wife and I 

We did manage to grow some "carrots" even if they are deformed and different colours, anyone have an idea as to why they are like it

Any help will be appreciated

[arugula]

Hello and welcome. Did you transplant carrot seedlings?  That can cause similar results.

[snowdrops]

Hi there,you got plenty even if they forked,stoney ground,some say manured ground others say you can manure for roots. Very hard ground below the seed bed can be an issue as well. Did you enjoy your 1st year with your plot? You certainly had a long wait

[Fairy Plotmother]

Hello and welcome. What a wait  You must have the patience of Job!

[pete-chrissie]

Thank you all for the pleasant welcome

Yes, seedlings were transplanted.

Ground does not have many stones, it was already an allotment when we took over.
Unsure if /when manure previously applied but I know there were lots and lots of weeds

Ground was rotovated to at least a foot deep, unable to do much actual digging and sadly not managing to spend anywhere near as much time at allotment as we had hoped due too poor health

Have heard that carrots do well if seeds planted into cardboard tubes (ex toilet roll) and transplanted complete.

Regards
Pete & Chrissie

[Mum2mj]

Hi, congratulations on your long awaited plot & a warm welcome 

[Totty]

Hi, and welcome!

With carrots, the aim is to give them a nice clean root run, as this is obviously the edible bit, and in order to grow nice and straight(ish) without forking the tap root must not become hindered by anything. By either buying plug plants, or sowing carrot seed in trays and then planting out, the roots will be hitting the bottom of the trays really soon after germination.
Carrots need to be sown in situ where they are to grow really, and you would need hundreds of loo rolls and lots of compost to make up the numbers of just one row sown direct.

Totty

[BabbyAnn]

As Totty says, sow direct and the roots usually grow straight and true if the soil is not disturbed once they've germinated - carrots need fertile soil so ground manured for the season before should be fine (avoid planting in ground manured that year as it can cause fanging)  There are lots of other reasons for fanging but try growing an early maturing variety like Nantes so that the roots grow quickly and harvested earlier.  During hot dry periods when you know the soil is bone dry, give the bed a thorough drenching rather than a light sprinkling otherwise it will encourage roots to try and tap in to the moisture at the surface level rather than deeper.

With regards to toilet rolls, as mentioned you'd need loads.  The other thing is that often the rolls are filled with compost but when the roots hit the soil, the difference in soil structure/nutrient content can change how the root grows so doesn't always work out.  I confess I do use the loo roll method for parsnips (growing conditions very similar to carrots) and often the results are ball shaped sputniks rather than the long tapering snips you find in the supermarket but I actually like them like that 

[peedee555]

hi i pinched an idea from one of my fellow plot holders on our site and ended up with love straight and very long carrots ..i dug a V shaped channel filled it with old grow bag compost and then put the soil back on top like ^ when planting the seeds i put about 2 inches of compost on top and sowed on that im guessing that they carried on going down with little resistance definitly doing it again next year

[surbie100]

Nice idea peedee, might try that with the tomato grow bags next year.

I got forked carrots my first year when I transplanted them. This year I grew in deep tubs on my balcony and they are perfect.

[chillimummy]

That sounds like good idea. Will try out. Sowed carrots twice this year and minimal success. Sounds like will help with forked carrots but they are also growing into improved soil too so better yield hopefully 

[pete-chrissie]

hi i pinched an idea from one of my fellow plot holders on our site and ended up with love straight and very long carrots ..i dug a V shaped channel filled it with old grow bag compost and then put the soil back on top like ^ when planting the seeds i put about 2 inches of compost on top and sowed on that im guessing that they carried on going down with little resistance definitly doing it again next year

That makes sense, think I'll also try that next year. Thank you