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[EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

One other thing...I keep thinking of stuff, sorry...
This last time I grew carrots they were 'hairy'.  I think James or 
someone told me that meant that the soil was too rich.  I'm pretty sure 
my raised beds are high in Nitrogen, so I wasn't too surprised.  They 
tasted just fine though. ;)  That probably explains the small carrot 
size, too.  Generally, if the N is too high, things are very leafy but 
have small roots.   I haven't really thought about this until today but 
the reason my carrots probably did well in the bean row is because as a 
root crop, the probably like phosphorus and potash and I always dump a 
bucket or two of wood ashes in the area where I intend to plant beans. 
I do recall actually pouring a bucket of ashes in the spot where that 
row was.  (Why can I remember crap like that and not remember a doctor's 
appointment?)  I suppose I need to double dig a small area and dedicate 
it to growing carrots.  No rocks.

B

EarthNSky wrote:
> I was hoping more folks would respond because I am looking for a good
> variety, too.
> Lisa I've grown the Nantes(2 types I think), and this year I am trying
> Red Cored Chantanay.  I think I need to plant carrots a little earlier
> than I have as my carrots have been on the small side.  They just don't
> do well baked in the ground, so I have to pull them.  Like Lynda's beds,
> all of mine are very composty and layered.  Now, it is rare to see a
> misshapen carrot, but the first year here, when I grew them in the
> ground,  I had the funniest looking carrots you ever saw.  I tried to
> clear the area of rocks, but even the smallest stone caused a
> mar/deformation in the the carrot.
> I do try to put my carrots in a line, even in the raised beds.  I will
> run multiple short lines, 2 or 3 feet long, parallel to each other.  The
> other thing I do that I haven't seen mentioned is that I mix my radish
> seeds with carrot seeds and plant them together.  The radishes germinate
> first and it marks the row.  They grow quickly and are pulled long
> before the carrots are ready.  Oh, when I planted them in the ground one
> year, some seeds washed over into the adjacent row of greenbeans.  Beans
> are apparently a good companion because the carrots in that row did much
> better than the carrots in the dedicated row.  That's all I can tell  ya.
>
> Bev
>
> Lisa K.V. Perry wrote:
> > On Mon, Jan 12, 2009 at 6:32 PM, Lynda <lurine AT com-pair.net> wrote:
> >
> > > All my beds are raised or lasagna, so they are really composty and
> > > the equivalent of real well dug and light.  I simply scatter seeds
> > > around the bottoms of the peas, beans, tomatoes and in amongst the
> > > lettuce.  I also plant them in amongst my herbs.  They do real well
> > > with chives, rosemary and sage.
> >
> >
> > Thanks, Lynda. I've read that carrots are 'particular' so have been
> > leery but would really like to give it a solid try this year. Sounds
> > like you don't have a specific bed for carrots then but just put them
> > wherever. I had not thought of your method. What variety do you grow?
> > I had hoped a couple of people would pick up on this thread.
> >
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"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will 
not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius 
will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the 
world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone 
are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve 
the problems of the human race"

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