Lessons learned from 2023 garden:

The biggest thing I learned is that you cannot leave carrots in the ground unprotected over winter. I had a good patch of carrots that i was hoping to save for after the first frost (so they would be sweeter). Turns out in our area, the rains before it frosts and the rain leaches most of the flavor out… Also, the frost hit the tops of the carrots and carrots don’t tolerate freezing and thawing every night very well. For my 2024 fall crop, I am planning to grow them in a raised bed, and when it starts raining, I will mulch and then tarp them to keep them protected and we’ll see how that goes!

The second biggest take away was spacing. Carrots don’t seem to mind being all clumped together. Sure, if I was going for county fair prizes I might focus a little more on spacing, but these carrots were all grown in a clump and they seemed to be just as happy as the carrots that were spaced apart.

I also started using a pitch fork like a broad fork to loosen the soil

And finally, when planting, I pressed a row int the the soil, put the seeds in a row, and then filled in the rows with a fine compost so that the seed could push they way through easily. I also found that if you use the “board method” for keeping the soil moist while the seeds are sprouting, only leave it on for three or four days. I found that if I left it on until I found seedings emerging (maybe 11 days), it was too late and i had killed most the carrots.

2024

March 8– Planted approximately eight square feet of Danvers. I planted these in rows in the end of a raised bed. They were Ferry-Morse “Sow Easy” And I believe they were 2022 seeds. I did not use the “board method” as I figured they would stay moist enough this time of year with out it. I also planted about six square feet by scattering of the rest of the Danvers and a packet of Ferry-Morse “Sow Easy” Rainbow Mix. For this plot, I am experimenting with scattering the seed and then covering the whole area with about one quarter inch of compost. My thought is that scattering the seeds is faster to plant then trying to plant sixteen per square foot all evenly spaced. And if the carrots can tolerate not being thinned, then it should get the spacing tight enough for the foliage to act a mulch better than it does in rows. I also have the ability, if i feel the need, to thin the carrots down to what ever density I feel they could tolerate. So we’ll see how it goes.

March 13– Planted three square feet of Ferry-Morse Chantenay Red Cored (Heirloom, 70 days) in the new garden bed. These were planted using the scatter method. One square foot was covered with a clear broken bin to see if having a cover would make a difference in germination.

March 19- Planted two square feet of Ferry’s Best Nantes (2022). Watered and put cardboard on top (this was left in place for four days).

March 31- The square foot that was covered has sprouted! (Planted 3/13) The others have not.

April 1- The other two square feet started 3/13 have sprouted. And one square foot of Ferry’s Best Nantes was planted.

Apr 29- Planted a 5’ section of Chantenay Red Cored in the upper garden. I did three rows and topped with a light layer of mulch. It’s supposed to rain and be overcast the next week so I am not going to use cardboard.

May 3- Planted three 1.5’ rows of Scarlet Nantes.

May 27- The carrots planted Mar 13 are only 3-4” tall.