Baby, It's Cold Outside!

We finally got some really cold weather in central Missouri.  On my porch thermometer a few mornings ago, it was 2 degrees!  Brrr!  My carrots couldn't handle that kind of cold, so I harvested them all.  I got 47 carrots total, a mix of Scarlet Nantes and Danvers.  Some of them were still really small, but I think that was due to lazy thinning efforts on my part.  Most of them, though, were a really great size.  I made an amazing soup with some of them and still have quite a few left.

I'm starting to get some seed catalogs and plan the garden for next spring.  I'll be starting some seeds in February, so I don't have too much longer to wait!  In the meantime, I'm going to continue planning and making some seed mats for my carrots and lettuce so I won't have to worry about thinning next year.

Thinning Carrots

If you have ever planted carrots, you know that the seeds are TINY, and I mean extremely tiny.  Unless you have some kind of special tiny seed planting device, it is very hard to plant these evenly.  So when I planted my carrots a couple of weeks ago, I knew there was going to be some carrot thinning in my future.  I had seeds everywhere!

Now, the first thinning should be done when the carrots are about 2-3 inches tall.  At this point, you only have to thin them to about an inch apart.  I usually just look for the one that looks the best and is the tallest and then pull the others around it out.  Once they start getting bigger, you can do the final thinning to about 2-3 inches apart.  The tool of choice for carrot thinning is tweezers.  It's hard to get your fingers in there without disturbing the carrots that you are leaving in.

There are a lot more carrots than it looks like in this picture.  Several are right on top of each other, so they definitely need to be thinned, even when they are this small.

And the finished product...

Already!

I thought I would have a couple of weeks to figure out how to keep my cat off my container of carrots, but they have come up already!  I can't believe it.  It usually takes at least two weeks and sometimes three before carrots come up.  I moved the container off the porch and into the backyard, so hopefully that should solve the cat problem.

TIP:  Make sure to keep carrot seedlings watered regularly.  They are planted very shallow at this point, so it is very easy for them to dry out.  Also, make sure to keep the area weeded very well because carrots are so small and tender when they are young that they can't compete with weeds for space to grow.

It's a little hard to see in the picture, but I have all five rows of carrots coming up.

Well, That Didn't Work

I tried a "No Cats Allowed" sign.  No luck with that.

Carrot Harvest

I finally pulled enough carrots to make a meal with. Roasted carrots are on the menu tonight. YUM! Some of them were still pretty small, but a lot of them were nice and big. They smell really great! The carrot tops smell like fresh parsley, and the actual carrots smell like...well, carrots (but delicious and VERY fresh ones). I wonder if you can use the carrot tops for anything. Does anyone know?

One quick carrot tip. If you plan on storing your carrots, it is best to cut the tops off right away. I know they are pretty with the tops on, but it makes the carrots go bad much, much faster. Depending on the variety of carrot you have, you can store some carrots in a cool, moist place for 4-5 months! If you leave the tops on, you need to use them within a week or so.

Getting there...slowly

I planted my carrots WAY late this year. Carrots are best when the weather is cool, and you can actually plant them directly in the ground before you have even had your last frost of the spring. The last frost date here in Missouri is around the 1st of May, so I should have had my carrots in the ground in April. I didn't plant carrots until May 23rd. Woops! However, with the crazy cool weather we've been having, they've been doing fine. I have been pulling one every few days to see the size difference.



Here's a carrot I pulled 10 days ago. Hey, don't laugh at the little guy! He has self-esteem issues.

Here's one I pulled today. It's amazing to see how much something can grow in just 10 days' time. I should be able to get a decent harvest within the next 2 weeks. I am also planning to plant a new crop of carrots this week for late fall/early winter harvest (more on that later).

Thar She Blows!

In Missouri, we are famous for having wild spring storms and tornadoes. August, however, is usually much more calm...except this year. We have been having the craziest weather I can remember! Yesterday morning I woke up to a tree branch banging on the roof. When I looked out the window, it was dark and windy...I mean, really windy. After weathering the storm, I had to rush out to see how my melons on the trellis had done. Some of the vines had gotten blown over into the carrots, but my two biggest cantaloupes were still strapped safely into their pantyhose.