Thursday 22 May 2008

Carrots 1 Me Nil

See me waving my hands in the air? That's me, conceding defeat.

Yep, the carrots have won. Don't want to grow this year on the allotment? Fine. Only one brave seedling breaking the Great Carrot Seed Strike 2008 and showing up for work? Great.

That's perfectly OK with me, you deserters. I have dozens of carrot seedlings, pots of them, partying down in containers at home.

And no, I won't look at the wonderful, incredibly straight rows of carrots growing just a few yards away, sown by Lovely Plot Lady.

Instead I shall brandish my fork and confine you to a dim and distant memory, soon, fingers crossed, to be replaced with lovely rows of my own. Last night, while being eaten by midgies, I sowed a rainbow selection of carrots.

Carrot tape was my number one choice but, and it's hard not to feel there's a Carrot Conspiracy going on, it's disappeared - poof! - off the face of the earth.

When I got home I then sowed some spring onions, another plot no show, with some Parmex carrots in a beautiful wooden container. The children will probably refuse to eat these orange marbles but they're apparently great in pots and 'suitable for clay soils where growing carrots can be a problem'.

Hear that my little orange friends? You may have won the battle but I'm going to win the war!

7 comments:

  1. I too am doing "battle with carrots" one day I shall eat some home grown carrots ... one day..
    Delightful posts I have enjoyed reading them (particularly about the snails and the children ... takes me back to my own children)
    regards
    Karen

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  2. All my carrots failed to germinate too! I used new seed and did all the right things. I've just given up, dug the ground over and planted pumpkins!

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  3. Same here, out of my two little rows I think I have 10 seedlings, a rather pathetic show compared to other veg. Am keeping my fingers crossed that they make it to maturity...

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  4. You tell em'! I just planted my very first veggie bed and I'm crossing my fingers...

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  5. Mine have germinated but there is still that long haul till I see a carrot (if ever). Also, will it have already have met the carrot fly before I get there?

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  6. Oh it's so good to hear that it's not just me that's struggling.

    Honestly, you'd think they'd be some expensive, exotic veg considering how bloomin' tricky they are to grow!

    And it occured to me yesterday at the allotment that apart from my dismal attempts and Lovely Plot Lady's rows, no-one else up there attempts to grow carrots.

    Hmmmmmmm........

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  7. we grew fantastic numbers of carots last year considering we had just moved in, didn't have time to do anything to the soil and so just chucked them in! 5 rows, no effort other than a little thinning and a little weeding.
    this year, lots of soil prep, successional sowings, parmex in the raised beds, touchon and early nantes in the main bed, the parmex started coming up, 3 lovely looking rows, then one day nothing, all gone.... seems something was peckish! the main bed hasn't shown a single thing.
    tom redug and we've started again, nothing showing so far but i'm keeping my fingers crossed. i just want some carrots!!

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