Question on carrots

So how do I know when the Danvers Half Long carrots are ready to pull up?
Thanks
Michelle

Don't know that I am any kind of expert on carrots. What i do is take my finger and scratch enough dirt away from around top of carrot to see what size it is. If the carrot is at least 1 inch in diameter I pull a few seperately so as to thin the row out, and enjoy. DonnaS

Thanks Donna. If it ever stops raining, I'll go out there and push some mud back and see if I have anything going on. I seeded them directly into the ground back in May...seems like a long time to wait for carrots?
Michelle

That's how I do it, too! Dern - sure hope they hurry. I got a powerful hunger goin' on! I planted thumbelinas and I can hardly wait to taste them!

Well, I pushed back the mud and didn't see much of anything....hmmmm....do carrots usually take this long? 3 months + ?

It depends on the variety. I just checked my Danvers Half Long envelope and it says 70 days, but I know mine have taken lots longer. You should be able to see something, though. Is the floiage long and dense?

yep, long and somewhat dense. When I scraped away the mud, I saw a bit of orange of maybe 1/2"...so I assumed that meant they are not ready? My DHL envelope also says 70 days...but it has been longer than that by a couple of weeks.

Could be all this heat, could be all the rain - not hardly an expert here! I KNOW my Thumbelinas took over 3 months, and they say 70-74 days. Well worth the wait, though!

Maybe it is just too wet. I sure don't have that problem. I didn't plant my carrot seed until mid June, don't like really large carrots, so plant late. My leaves are only about 10 inches or so tall, so far the bunnies haven't eaten any.

Just wait a little longer and keep checking, whenever you can see enough orange so that you think they are big enough to eat pull one up and eat it. Digging away some soil near the top won't hurt anything after you push the soil back. DonnaS

Thanks ladies!!! I appreciate your help!
Michelle

I read in another thread that I can't find right now that 70 days doesn't actually mean 70 days. It means 70 days of appropriate heat units. So, if you have some cool days, some wet days, etc when the plant doesn't get much sun and warmth, then those days don't count towards the 70 days. So maybe you have 50 days or something like that? I'm just repeating something I read in another thread, so I'm not 100% confident in this, but it could explain the length of time on your carrots if you've been having icky weather.

CMoxon, interesting...thanks for that. We had several days of rain and overcast weather...which was such a nice break from the heat and sun! I will keep an eye on them and hope to taste them soon. My maters sure do like it when we get a break from the heat. Last Friday it was overcast and breezy and didn't get over 88 and when I went out to the mater garden, I had a bunch of little ones coming out. I really think that the heat is no good for the Delicious. But it seems that the heat is really good for the carrots?

Hmmm - my carrots always seem to do better in the cooler temps...or maybe I just don't remember from season to seasn. I know I plant them out with the radishes. On the other hand, they sure do take they're darned sweet time. I thought it was the heat that slowed them down. just for the heck of it, I'm going to plant a second crop and see what they do!

Here's the last of my Thumbellinas!

Nice picture Sequee...well, hmmm...Saint was telling me that where we live we should plant carrots in the fall b/c it does get too hot for them. Well phooey...I wonder if it is too late to sow some seed now? Do you sow them directly into the ground?

Michelle my sheet says to plant em in Sept. So nope not to late..but remember ya'll get cooler than we do. I'm planting radishes as well as carrots and garlic when I get back from Dallas. Fool was telling me about a Central Foods so I'm going to check it out for garlic since I want to plant hard as well as soft neck.

Saint

Central Food Market? is that what Foolcontrol was telling you about? I hadn't even thought about getting seeds from them...

Sept hu? well maybe I'll try some more carrots then and see if they do better in our fall than they have in the summer. I'll put the seed down in mid Aug and see if that will work. Do you direct sow them?

Michelle

I had no luck whatsoever when I tried to pot up carrots. Now I direct sow and it seems to work great. They tell ya to plant radishes at the same time as the carrots because the radishes pop up quickly and will help to mark the carrots rows until they germinate. "They" know everything - LOL!

I plant radishes and carrots together because the radishes germinate in about a week but the carrots take about 3 weeks. They won't germinate well (or maybe not at all) when it is hot so wait until the weather cools off. I mix the seeds and add some soil, then go down my row planting it all. The soil helps keep you from planting too thickly. Cover with just a little more soil and press into the ground with the back of a garden rake or hoe. Be sure to keep the seeds moist, a very light covering of grass clippings helps and the little sprouts can grow up through it. I put just enough grass clippings on so that I can still see the soil a little bit but it does help shade the row and keep the ground a little bit moist. Having them planted together does a couple of things, uses your space efficiently, reminds you that you need to water, and the radishes shade the carrot seedlings a bit. When you pull the radishes to eat them you thin the row and give the carrots room to grow. Give it a try.

Thanks ladies. I did grow radishes w/the carrots but ate the radishes ages ago. grass clippings...I like that idea. I will try and sow some more carrots and see if the cooler weather (If we ever get any) will help. I love carrots..I eat them all the time and would love to not have to buy them at the grocery store any longer.

Great tips, Mary! Thanks!!!