Carrots were an afterthought in the garden this year. Not because I don't enjoy them, but because they needed to be planted directly in the ground and by the time I was done with all the other veggies, I had run out of energy for the carrots. Besides, the packet said that carrots could be planted any time between last frost and mid July.
So when mid-July came around, I thought "Goodness! If I'm going to grow carrots, I better get cracking!" This year's carrot of choice was Nelson from Johnny's Select Seeds. I opted for pelleted and I would highly recommend the pelleted varieties of any of the tiny seeds. Very small seeds look a lot like dirt, but small white pellets are very easy to spot. Since they were almost an afterthought in this year's garden, I plunked them into a vacant space behind the broccoli and mostly forgot about them. I weeded them three or four times, but never faithfully. In September, I pulled up one carrot to see how they were progressing. Carrots can be frustrating because all the good action happens underground. The one I pulled up wasn't even orange yet.
Figuring I just got them in the ground too late, I decided that they would be a wash and made a note in my journal that carrots need to be started earlier in the season. I left them all in the ground figuring that they could keep growing until the frost killed them off. I paid them no futher thought until my folks came for a visit.
I was showing off my garden and Mom asked about the carrots. I went over to pull one up to demonstrate how sad they were. What a shock when I pulled up the perfectly shaped carrot! Both the folks were impressed. Now, the primary reason for my garden is for my own enjoyment, but it certainly feels good to get compliments on a season of hard work - even if the compliments are for veggies that I forgot about.
0 comments:
Post a Comment