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  • From: "Douglas Willhite" <drwillhite@earthlink.net>
  • To: "Douglas & Hillary Willhite" <drwillhite@earthlink.net>
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Container Gardening 101 - Carrots
  • Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2008 09:36:04 -0700

Hi Folks,
 
Ever since wildfires ravaged thousands of acres and over fifteen-hundred homes here in southern California last autumn much of my energy here in the mountain-valley where we live has gone toward trimming trees and bushes that were never trimmed, removing chamise (or greasewood) and sage brush; stacking dead wood and dry brush where the ground is sloped and bare and mulching it with a bush hog to prevent erosion; and making certain all structures are as fire safe and resistant as we can make them.
 
Meanwhile, food and fuel prices continue skyrocketing. For a glimpse of how desperately unstable the U.S. economy and dollar have gotten recently check out the headlines on this page:
 
http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/BreakingNews.html
 
Let's not count on the next presidential election to save our butts! That's reckless and irresponsible. If you're aware of how shaky the economy is getting and you're still making no efforts to grow your own food, it's time to get started with a small container garden, a water purifier, and a few egg-laying hens. Personal responsibility is the key. Surely you're not waiting for the proverbial Titanic to go under before you begin work on your family's and community's lifeboats.
 
Some of us are going to need to use every trick in the book to provide ourselves with as much food as possible in the years ahead. Now that Spring is near, here is the first of this season's instructional gardening articles. I think carrots are one of the easiest foods to grow and it seems like everybody likes them too.
 
Hope this helps.
All the best,
Doug
 
p.s. If you prefer not to receive instructional emails let us know and we'll remove your name from our list.
 
 
Container Carrots
From “The Apartment Farmer” by Duane Newcomb.
Cool season crop.  Rated excellent for indoor and outdoor containers.

Carrot are probably a near perfect plant for containers.  They take little space, they really aren’t fussy about temperature (even though they’re rated a cool season crop), and they’ll stay in the ground a long time without spoiling.  You can just go and pull one up at a time.  In addition, carrots come in a variety of shapes and sizes.  You can grow long, slender carrots (Gold Pak, Imperator); medium, fat carrots (Royal Chatenay, Spartan bonus;) middle, slender carrots (Danvers Half Long;) short, slender carrots (Little Finger;) and short, fat (Ox-Heart.)

How to Grow

Plant by scattering the seeds across the container surface, roughly 1 inch apart.  Cover with about 1/2 inch of soil.  After a few weeks, thin to 2 inches apart (use the young carrots in cooking or eat raw).  In large containers, plant half the crop ten days before you plant the other half.
Caution here. If the carrot tip touches the bottom of the pot, the carrot will not develop to maturity.  Simply make sure your container is deep enough for the variety you intend to grow.

For indoor containers, plant any time.  Outside you should plant carrot seed on the approximate date of the last frost in you area.  You can then continue to plant up to about sixty days before the first frost of fall.  You can grow carrots all summer long except in the hottest areas.  If the summer sun is exceptionally hot on the patio (above 90 degrees), provide some shade.

4-inch Pots  (this means width of the pot, make sure your container is deep enough for the kind of carrot you are planting). You can grow Little Finger or Ox-Heart in 4 inch pots.  Limit the pots to three to six Little Finger carrots, two to four Ox-Heart.

Under Lights.  You can easily grow carrots with two 40-watt fluorescent tubes.

Typical Problems. My carrots cracked badly. This is a watering problem.  If you let the soil dry out and water infrequently, the roots will crack open as they start to grow again.
My carrots didn’t come up well from seed.  You didn’t keep the soil wet during the germination period. Try again. (Also, this can be caused by using seed that's too old or was improperly stored).

Harvesting Tips. Start harvesting your carrots as soon as they reach finger size.  They’re delicious at this stage.  Large carrots often become woody.


Asparagus
Rhubarb
Chives
Horseradish
Winter Onions

Crops that occupy the ground only the first part of the season:
 
Early Beets
Early Cabbage
Lettuce
Onion Sets
Peas
Radishes
Early Spinach
Mustard
Turnips

Crops that occupy the ground the major portion of the season:

Bush and Pole Beans
Lima Beans
Cabbage
Celery
Sweet Corn
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Muskmelons
Okra
Peppers
Potatoes
Pumpkin
Squash
Tomatoes
Watermelon
Swiss Chard

Crops to be planted in July or later for fall and winter gardens:

Bush Beans
Beets
Broccoli
Chinese Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Endive
Kale
Kohlrabi
Radishes
Spinach
Turnips
Collards
Lettuce


TOP 15 VEGETABLES IN ECONOMIC VALUE & intensive spacing guide
http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/envirohort/426-335/426-335.html#L3
http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/mg/vegetable/intensive.html

Tomatoes
Beets
Green bunching onions
Carrots
Leaf lettuce
Cucumbers
Turnip (greens + roots)
Peppers
Summer squash
Broccoli
Edible podded peas
Head lettuce
Onion storage bulbs
Swiss chard
Beans (pole, bush)

1 Values based on pounds produced per square foot, retail value per pound
at harvest time, and length of time in the garden.




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