Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Carrots at LAST!

In May, I planted a bunch of carrot seeds. I was very careless about it. I planted several seeds in one hole, and continued in that fashion. And then I waited for them to grow. Their green tops came first. And now, three months after I first planted them, I decided to pull all of them.

Two of my carrots looked ready. Its orange flesh was popping out of the soil. I couldn't help myself. I took a picture and then I pulled it.

Three months is long enough!

Below: The carrots before I pulled them. Don't they look ready?

When I pulled them, I noticed that they were rather small. The carrots that you see in the grocery store are beautiful and long. Maybe that's because those farmers use chemicals to make them grow larger? Whatever the reason, I was rather disappointed. I did not use any chemicals on my carrots. I just watered them and let them grow.

Below: They don't look too bad. They are short, but still edible

I must confess that planting all those seeds in the one hole was a big mistake. I think I should have spaced out the carrots more. They would've had more room to grow and become a bit larger, I think. Oh well. Lesson learned.

Below: These carrots just look funny. They are joined at the "head," but they should still be delicious.

The above carrots were grown in the raised bed in the front yard. In the backyard, where the square foot boxes are located, we planted seeds at the edges of the square and planted other vegetables in the center of each square. As a result, the carrots are extremely small and funky-looking. But that's okay. Again, lesson learned. Next time, I'll do better.

Below: A line-up of carrots from the Square Foot Garden boxes

My sister put a bunch of the carrots in a soup that she made, and they were very sweet. Even though they were small, they were still packed with tons of flavor. So I guess I grew "baby carrots" instead of full-grown carrots. LoL.

I think I will pop a few more seeds in the ground and see if I can get a fall crop of carrots.

Yesterday, I met some of my fellow TN bloggers (Tina, Gail, Dave, Donna, and Frances), and it was a wonderful time. We talked about the most random things, but it was so great to meet everyone outside of the cyberspace. I'm hoping Tina will post pictures soon, and I will link.

Frances gave me daylilies, which I will plant soon. It will be my first attempt at growing flowers. Hmm, I hope they don't die. LoL.

And Tina made the most beautiful marker stones. I'll post pictures of that soon. I need to decide where to place it.

Ta ta!

9 comments:

tina said...

You are doing so good! I never ever got carrots like that so I am very envious and will try spring planting next year.

Glad you like the stone. I think on Friday I will post a picture and talk of our meeting. The pictures came out good and I am waiting to see the ones Frances took too! It was great fun meeting everyone and talking of everything. And the cool part is how much we already know about each other. Kind of weird too:)

Cindy said...

Your carrots look great. Do you know what variety they are ? I have grown many different types in my raised beds, of all different lengths. Maybe the type you grew was a shorter type.

Susie said...

D.P.-I like the way your carrots look! I bet they taste better than ever. Gardening is such fun! You just never know how things are really going to look.

DP Nguyen said...

Hi Tina- It is kinda weird how we know a lot about each other and we never met in real life. lol. I didn't think the carrots were that impressive, but they were pretty yummy.

Hi Cindy- I have no idea what variety. I just assumed carrots were carrots. I just googled it, and I guess there are tons of carrot varieties. I'll pay more attention next time. Thanks for the tip.

Hi Susie, they do taste better than they look, but it was really cool to find them in my garden.

Dawn said...

Dp-carrots are frustrating....lots and lots of seeds to plant then thinning to 3'' apart.....after that, the only hope is to grow long and straight. Rough or heavy soil can make them short or leg like(split)I prepared 12'' of peat one year and got the same results. I decided my carrots tasted better than the local food store, no matter how they looked!

marmee said...

yeah for the carrots! we didn't plant any this year but maybe for next. we did also get corn that we loved the taste of and are saving seeds for next year. keep up the good work.

Skeeter said...

My carrots are still in the ground also! They just don’t seem to be growing like they should be… I don’t like to plant anything from seed as I don’t like to thin out the tiny babies. I always feel like I am killing a plant that could be the perfect specimen. I know it is best to thin out but I seem to have thinning issues! LOL…

I have seen the Tennessee Bloggers all over the place this morning and wished so badly that this TN blogger gal, living in GA had been there. Someone wrote they had Bloggers meeting envy. That is me too… Maybe next time…

DP Nguyen said...

Hi Dawn- I had no idea how hard carrots were.. I really hate thinning out the plants, I think I'm killing them. Maybe next time, I'll force myself to do it. Or maybe not. lol. I don't know yet.

Hi Marmee, Good luck with your carrots next year. It's been a fun experience, but man, they take forever to grow! Gr. Congrats on the corn. It's pretty delicious, isn't it?

Hi Skeeter- Carrots grow SO slow, I really hate it. LoL. I wish they grew faster. it's taken 3 months before I decided to pull them. Isn't that long enough? lol. I hate thinning the plants too... that's why I didn't do it this time. it was just SO hard to do it. I also feel like i am killing them.

Maybe you can come next time and meet all of us. It was pretty cool to meet everyone! I bet you are as funny, if not funnier, than you are here on the web. :-D

John said...

Oh my carrots really tried my patience this year too. They just seemed to take so long. And it was so difficult waiting when I couldn't really see what progress they were making underground. But they sure tasted good. Bet your's taste great also. I sort of like when they look different than the storebought ones..gives them character :)