I planted only one 4' x 8' raised bed of carrots this year. Do you think I might FINALLY be wising up to the fact that two people can't eat unlimited amounts of food? All the carrot tops were starting to turn brown and fall over (which I've never seen before) so I took that as my signal that they really needed to be harvested.
The variety I planted was the old favorite Scarlet Nantes.
I wasn't disappointed with the harvest. The above picture is about one-third of the carrots we got. Total weight: 43 pounds and 4 ounces. Definitely enough to keep us going through the winter with some to share. (Don't the carrots in the picture look like some sort of deformed hot dogs and that I'm gearing up for one really big cookout?)
I thought some of you might get a chuckle out of the tale surrounding these water soaked old sweat pants I was wearing while harvesting and prepping the carrots for storage. (I know my husband seemed to think it was pretty funny.) This is a shot of the back of the pants.Seems that as I finished spraying off the last batch of carrots, I dropped the hose on the ground while turning around and bending over to pick something up. When I dropped the hose, apparently the sprayer head landed in such a way that it released a full jet of water that hit me directly in the . . .um, uh, er . . . right in a very sensitive spot and the water traveled up and down from there.
I let out a loud screech when the water hit, jumped about two feet straight up and came down running. Geesh, that water was cold.
12 comments:
Great harvest. I'd love to hear how you store your carrots- we can't seem to get it right. Thanks:-).
What a hoot! That would get your attention -- nothing like a fanny-full of ice cold water. Once again, you have entered the record books of amazing produce. I have never done well with carrots, but maybe I will try again.
Love the pants and the deformed hot dog...lol! so funny!
Wonderful blog you have!
Hugs!
Now those would be hot dogs you SHOULD eat. Full of vitamins, minerals, and no weird fillers. Hey, I might try one in a bun.
Are you kidding me? Holy moly a bunch of us bloggers were just discussing how we can't grow carrots to save our lives, this year I got two.... not 2 lbs, just two LOL!
I though maybe a sasquatch emerged from the treeline while you were gardening when I saw those pants :)
ThyHand - We've tried about every way possible . . . in root cellar in sand, in sawdust, loose in big bin, in plastic (perforated) bags in big bin, in refrig. What seems to work best for us is to package them in plastic bags (about 4 lbs. per bag), put twist tie on top, poke random holes in bags, and store in cool root cellar or refrig. Right now mine are in the spare refrig because our root cellar hasn't cooled down enough. But they will get transferred down there soon, I hope.
Susan - One thing we can raise without too much trouble up here is root crops!
Pam - Welcome and thanks for commenting! Glad I gave you a giggle! ;o)
jane - What a jolt that would be to bite into a bun with a carrot in the middle. We don't eat hot dogs either . . . yuck.
Erin - If a sasquatch HAD emerged from the treeline you would have seen the same effect on my pants! Maybe worse.
LOL just saw the new profile pic!
My kidlets would love to help you out with that carrot harvest - particularly my daughter. She LOVED your carrots when she sampled them in the summer. It's amazing how many you can get from one "small" (HA) raised bed.
What a great harvest!
I read something SOMEWHERE about storing carrots using a bottomless plastic bucket buried outside up to the top rim---you then cover it with a bale of straw and it's supposed to keep them perfectly all winter. I'm going to try it, but with just a FEW of my beloved carrots. (I sure wouldn't want to try something new with too many).
I definately want to grow far more carrots next year-we eat them as quickly as I bring them in. I was sowing a row a week-so I don't have many for storage. On second thought, maybe I better try this new method with STORE bought--just in case it doesn't work!
:)
Oh yum! Carrots are one of the last things to come out, yet the most anticipated! Who cares what they look like, so long as they taste goooo-oood!
Erin - They don't call me ol' Punkin Head for nuthin'!
Jen - Wish you and the kids were here to share the carrots.
You are right. It truly doesn't take a HUGE amount of land to grow a good amount of your veggies. One little 4' x 8' space equals 43 lbs. of carrots!
Sue - Our frost goes down 3-5' in a given winter so I don't think that would work for us. I tried over-wintering carrots in a raised bed one year. Piled hay all around the sides and on top. Then put a couple of 2" thick styrofoam sheets over the top. Can you say "orange carrot mush?" :o(
Apple Pie Gal - These aren't the sweetest carrots we've ever tasted but they're not bitter at all. And it's usually been my experience that they sweeten up a little in storage. I'm hopin'!
Hey there! I'm just wondering if you actually did try the buried bucket method? It's been a few months since this post and I'm just curious!
That was hilarious about the water hose.. I've done that too many times myself!
~Wendy
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