I’m thinking it’s just about time to lean on Mike to jazz this blog up a bit (visually, that is). I’ve been perusing many a blog as of late, and I’m frequently impressed by the visual loveliness lots of them boast. While I’m technically rather deficient, my better half is a programmer with mad skills, heretofore un-highlighted. Stay tuned in the upcoming days, as I hope I’ll twist his arm sufficiently to generate some pizzazz* in the blogosphere.
In gardening news: after harvesting some spinach on Thursday, we were able to make an enormous salad on Sunday (in honor of Father’s Day) to share with my parents and Joan’s family. I have to say that that spinach is the most delicious I’ve ever tasted. It’s absolutely perfect raw and cooked.
Yesterday we decided to take the plunge and harvest the 5 carrots that we’ve been eye-balling for some time. As you can see, the tops of the carrots were, to say the least, impressive.
Carrot Tops (and friends) with Mike
I’m told they were also delicious.
Binky: noshing on the tops (sorry it's a bit blurry)
Mike and I had visions of carrot behemoths. Carrot juggernauts. Carrots that would block out the sun. I mean, those tops had to be harbingers of plenty, right?
Alas, as you may have gathered from the preceding, we were rather disappointed in the size of said carrots once we’d actually yanked them out. They were quite small, really.
Carrots: Less Than Meets The Eye
I’ll admit I’m mystified by several aspects of this carrotage:
1. Why were they so gosh-darned hirsute? (yes, I realize carrots cannot, actually, be hairy; these were zillions of roots sprouting out in every direction). To wit:
Captain Vegetable**: it needs to be said.
2. Why were they so short? It has been my (limited, admittedly) experience that thick, dense tops equal large carrots.
3. Why, I’m still wondering, did Mike start these carrots indoors and 3b. why did they survive transplanting?
4. Does 3 really explain 1 and 2?
If you have any clue, let me know!
The good news, however, is that the carrots were pronounced delicious by one and all.
Yum: I swear the orange shirts were a coincidence
*Anyone else think it’s a crying shame that the word pizzazz will never, ever be played in a (legitimate) game of Scrabble? Truly tragic.
** Also tragic would be a lack of knowledge as to the identity of Captain Vegetable.
You have been elevated to my favorite blog writer EVER. Anyone who can use the word “hirsute” in writing about a garden has mad skills.
Your adoring farmer fan
OK dude. First the carrots grow big beautiful tops and then they bulk up their bottoms. You were just a little too anxious, darling.
There is also the whole NPK thing. No, I am not talking about your sister. Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium. There could be a little imbalance there. Too much N and you get a lot of green stuff.
But I expect you were just way to early picking those beauties.
Owen has a carrot growing tube so you can actually watch it all happen. You can borrow it if you would like. The kids would enjoy it!
Carrots are hairy when they get too much nitrogen as Joan said.
They were started indoors? Carrots have a long tap root (duh right since it is the carrot). If you stop it from growing somehow it won’t get long. If it reaches the bottom of a pot, it will stop growing down. It won’t ever recover that length when you transplant it outside. Try direct seeding them next time. Other things that can stop a carrot from growing long are heavy clay soil and rocks. That is the issue in my garden.
Thanks, guys! I wonder if the nitrogen was in the potting stuff Mike used indoors? Hmm. We’ll see when we have direct seeded dudes to contrast them with.