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[Clansgian AT wmconnect.com]

> >So James, given those three options of orientation/location, what should
> I choose?

I was scanning and deleting posts until I caught this one taking my name in 
vain.

Says I, choose the orientation based on the logistics of your garden, the 
carrots won't mind either way.  True, carrots will tolerate some shade, not 
so 
much in the spring as in the summer.

A carrot doesn't grow all that tall and even at it's zenith the foliage is 
sparce enough that it does not make dense shade.  Also my practice is to pull 
carrots from all over the patch as they get big enough instead of harvesting 
from one end in order.  Some gardeners say to not do that because the 
randomly 
removed carrots invite carrot flies into the ones left.  So far that's never 
been a problem.  So the carrot bed gets thinner and thinner as the carrots 
get 
bigger.  All this allows a lot of light in.

So in the way I manage carrots, it wouldn't make any difference to the 
carrots whether the bed is EW or NS.   If I did the bed in ridges, I'd orient 
the 
ridges EW regarless of the orientation of the bed itself.

I would think the amount of time a 4' compost bed shades a 20" carrot bed 
would be a short time each day.


James