Hopefull Start
Carrots have always been a challenge for us. We’ve tried growing them at both houses and have had little success having a healthy crop. We ended up with about 20-30 carrots total after planting a whole row of them. It should have been more like 60-80.
We’ve tried different things such as adding sand to the soil and moving them to different locations. We would add peat moss1. That was something I had to learn about when we first started our garden.
Part of having a large garden and always wanting the best! My husband has hired someone in the last few years to tile the garden 10 inches deep. It has made planting and harvesting so much easier because the dirt is workable. It was once all corn and beans. We did plant a little later this year, so maybe that also played into it. We are hoping to get a second harvest in for some things. Maybe they will do better the second time around. The carrots though are not getting what they need. So back to the drawing board.
Any help? What are your secrets to growing carrots?
Have you had luck with carrots? One of our friends in town has had great luck growing carrots on their property, we’ll probably end up doing some trading of produce! Better luck to us next year!
What do you do with your carrot crop? We were hoping to eat some fresh of course. The goal was to freeze and can the majority of them so our family could put them in soups later on. One of my favorites to make is cheesy potato soup (recipe linked), I add carrots and celery to mine. When I make it there is an abundance to share. I know when we have soup for our food day this will be a big hit and I big very little home. My husband makes hamburger soup which is a fan favorite. He makes enough to share with our family and friends. This year we are hoping to can some to have on hand for when we need a quick meal to make.
- Definitions from Oxford Languages: peat moss: large absorbent moss that grows in dense masses on boggy ground, where the lower parts decay slowly to form peat deposits. Peat moss is widely used in horticulture, especially for packing plants and (as peat) for compost. ↩︎