Thursday, January 26, 2012

Sad Carrots

{sub-title: Garden Fail #2}

Look at this beautiful bunch of carrots. I bought it at the farmers' market a couple of weeks ago.

See these pathetic little things? I grew them.


I wanted to see if I could grow carrots in containers. These are the little carrot plants before I thinned them last spring. Unfortunately I don't have containers deep enough for what these carrots needed. And I purposely planted a variety of carrots designed to be short and stubby, like baby carrot, so I expected small carrots, but not microscopic ones that look like toothpicks!

 
I did harvest a few that were a somewhat decent size (compared to the little nubbins in the first few photos), but overall, I consider this a garden fail because of the vast number of microscopic ones that came out. I have found some carrots that are designed to grow in containers, but I don't know if I want to try it again this season.  If I ever have more land, I'll definitely try growing them properly in the ground.

There is a happy ending to this sad carrot tale. I took the itty bitty carrot nubbins to the animal shelter on my volunteer night and gave the shelter bunnies a little treat.

I know some of you grow carrots. Have you ever grown them in containers with better results than these? What variety do you grow?

10 comments:

  1. Somewhere out there, there should be a guidebook to carrots. This is my 3rd gardening season and I have yet to grow anything of decent size or shape. Not sure if it's a dirt issue, if it's a nutrient issue, or if it's the variety that I can't get right.

    Love that you shared them with the bunnies though!

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  2. I have problems growing carrots in my clay soil, so I planted a variety called Paris Market in some containers.

    They are short and round, and seem to do fairly well in a pot. Granted you are not going to see huge carrots when you pull them out, but they are decent enough for something grown out of a container.

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  3. I've never tried to grow carrots in a container. I would think if the container were deep enough, they should be able to grow to the bottom. But, what do I know? Nothing!

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  4. @Amy--hmmm, interesting. I'm sorry you've had trouble too, but I feel a little better and less inept knowing carrots aren't that straightforward.

    @Prairie Cat--thanks for the rec!

    @HolleyGarden--yes, I thought of getting a deeper container, but I have such limited space on my deck for containers. And I have some more tomato varieties that I really want to grow. Carrots may just have to wait a year.

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  5. I'm still amazed at everything you can grow in containers. Glad the bunnies got a treat!

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  6. What a wonderful idea, that obviously worked great for you!! So going to add this to my list of must tries =) Also, I just wanted to let you know I am awarding your blog the "Versatile Blogger Award" I just love your posts and want to show you how much I appreciate your blog!! please visit my latest post for more details on the award and where I have also linked your blog. Cheers Julia

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  7. Oh dear! My youngest son would love those weenie carrots though. I've never had any luck growing carrots and haven't tried for a few years but maybe this year I'll give them a go again.

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  8. I also grew carrots in containers and mine looked just like yours! My purple carrots were a lot bigger. I grew mine in deep pots but didn't thin them out enough. I'm going to try again this year. The bunnies must have loved you! :o)

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