Topic: Last years carrots still in the ground.

[Garden Manager]

Have come across some forgotten carrots in a friends plot, still in the ground and still growing. Have pulled one or two and apart from some minor slug damage they look fine. The ground now needs clearing. It would be a bit of a shame to waste them but are they any good/worth using? Or is it now too late. I have left parsnips too long in the past and they were no good, despise looking OK.

Any thoughts?

[kGarden]

I'd rinse in the water butt and take a nice bite to test whether still sweet or already woody.

[LesH]

 The carrots will be ok, I'm still digging those sown last year.

[winecap]

I'm still eating mine too. No problems at all yet, but I guess it may depend when exactly they were sown. My early sowings from last year are long gone, but I think the ones I'm on now were sown in June.

[amphibian]

You can always replant them somewhere to flower and set seed - as long as you've not got lots of wild carrot in your area that is.

[pumkinlover]

If showing signs of regrowth I find that the core might be starting to go woody, but I still use carrots and parsnip when do this by cutting out the core.
My carrots are still ok, though not that many are worth bothering.

[markfield rover]

I always leave a few to the following year as they make great cut flowers .

[small]

I've still got some in the ground from April sowing last year. I don't need that patch yet so I'm leaving them, I did dig up quite a few about a month ago, washed them and stored at the bottom of the fridge, they are keeping perfectly like that, so you've a range of options. I don't know why they haven't gone woody yet, they usually have by this time, just shows what an unpredictable thing growing veg can be.

[Garden Manager]

Thanks for replies. Will have to try a few and see. If only in a soup or stew rather than as a side veg.

They are regrowing but otherwise look fine.

I agree its odd they haven't gone woody. Same with Parsnips. Last year i left a few too late and they were inedible by now, even made into soup they were no good. Not woody as such just 'rubbery'. This year i left a few late again (harvested last weekend) and were fine when cooked and roasted, not much of a core at all. made some nice soup out of some of the leftover bits too. Odd

[saddad]

We are still pulling and eating ours... they start to get a bit hairy as they put out new roots, before they toughen up to support the flower stem. In a couple of weeks we will be converting any that are left into carrot and coriander soup!