carrots:autumn king
This has been a good year for us for autumn carrots.
Autumn carrots are sown in late spring/early summer after the overwintering onions are lifted. The ground is tidied, hoed and raked over and drills made about 1cm deep.
They need a consistent level of water to germinate and this year we got lucky. The seed bed was well-watered after sowing and then we had rain: excellent germination.
The young carrots crowd together and have to be 'thinned' so that there is space for them to grow. These 'thinnings' are not wasted. They are succulent and sweet and it is tempting to eat them all before they have got home.
An advantage of late carrots is that they are not prone to the dreaded carrot root fly in the way that their spring sown cousins e.g. early Nantes are.
We are now lifting the carrots. What a treat; absolutely nothing tastes like a fresh carrot. A taste sensation! Forget those you get in the supermarket in plastic bags. These are the real deal.
All I did was chop off the tops, scrub them, slice length ways and quickly boil them. They were great for dinner on Sunday.
2 comments:
Great looking carrots. My fall/winter planting is nowhere near ready yet, but I've still got some from my spring planting that my 4 year old has left in the ground.
We have yet to have them for dinner. 90% of the time my 4 year old grabs one out of the dirt, I wash it off and he eats it on the spot. I totally agree that there's nothing like it. He agrees. hehe
And so much better for a kid than candy! Or sweets as we call 'em!
And if a bit of dirt goes in, the healthier the digestive system will be.
He'll thank you in years to come!
Cheers
Rob
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