whats your mix for starting a new carrot bed.
I believe i found recipe for really good carrot soil mix.
So please post your mix so i can see if yours is comparable by testing them this season.
Ps I have no carrot fly worries.
i did some this year - first batch a total failure i think because my clay soil capped over. 2nd batch I hoed a drill and covered with a compost/sand mix and they did ok - lots of forking and crazy shaped carrots mind you. This year I plan to do them in what was a salad bed this year - which is about 90% home made compost and manure mix which has been in a raised bed a year now. Not sure if that soil will be right however...
This year...dug an area over approx 4ft square...
Luckily I have very light sandy soil..
Anyhow dug the area over and over, added more sand
and loads of spent compost..left over stuff from seed trays ,
pots ect..well mixed and dug in..
Erected a polythene fence around the area. which was supported by canes.2-3ft.high.
The base of the plastic sheeting sunk into the soil,
6-8 inches or so.This was simply to help combat the dreaded fly!
Which I can happily report wurked :)
Will be doing similar next year ,only on a bigger scale....
Best ever carrots this year, I sowed Chardoney Red Top..beautiful taste...
mrestofos are you going to share your secret soil mix with us. ;D ;D ;D
cornykev as soon as you post your mixes i will.
I grow mine in mud, same as the other things...
I had great carrots this year. 80% ungraded gravel 20% soil, 10 years sheep grazing and a good handful BFB. Worry the mix a bit and throw on the seed. Would not recommend it but great results.
So now m... what is yours?
Come on...is it covered by " the official Secrets act".... ;) ;)
spil the beans...grass on all...tell the secrets of the................ Carrot!!! ;D ::) ::)
You show me yours and I'll show you mine. :o ;D ;D ;D
Quote from: mrestofus on December 02, 2009, 07:17:47
whats your mix for starting a new carrot bed.
I believe i found recipe for really good carrot soil mix.
So please post your mix so i can see if yours is comparable by testing them this season.
Ps I have no carrot fly worries.
I was not aware that you need a mix to START them off in, just a mix to grow them in
davy what we are talking about is the soil for growing them in.
cornykev you always say that but you are never willing to share.
Digeroo i would try not grow mold in the soil you describe.
Quote from: mrestofus on December 02, 2009, 20:14:29
davy what we are talking about is the soil for growing them in.
cornykev you always say that but you are never willing to share.
Digeroo i would try not grow mold in the soil you describe.
Somehow I dont think we'll get your mix me old china! Even if we do i dont think I'll understand it!
Kev, be interested in your carrot growing soil in Enfield. The bed I elected to use was pretty heavy clay - beginners mistake - this year i will use an area with as light a soil as possible. Am thinking digging a load of sharp sand into what was my raised salad bed this year...that and a load of council black stuff. Question is....will it be nutritious enough????
For the record my Dad did a load of broadcast seed in a huge pot this year in what was previously housing a camellia i.e acidic soil and they were a real success....go figure!
Either way, my boys loved 'em!
Don't worry, it's just TTG trying to provoke us again.
Too well drained to grow mould. Also very alkaline.
Much to my surprise it grows almost anything as if they were weeds. Just light the blue touch paper and Bobs your uncle.
Robert_Brenchley how is asking people to post there soil mix provoking them?
here is one of mixes i plan using
1 part sharp sand
1 part sifted compost
1 fine ground peat moss.
Quote from: mrestofus on December 02, 2009, 23:43:55
Robert_Brenchley how is asking people to post there soil mix provoking them?
here is one of mixes i plan using
1 part sharp sand
1 part sifted compost
1 fine ground peat moss.
So now we have your mix which appears in every google of growing carrots pray tell me what feed you intend to use as this is also part of the mix
none
a feed is not part soil mix it is a fertilizer placed afterwords.
that is not super mix i
I think that the carrots like a good handful of BFB. Might try using a good amount of recycling compost.
Quote from: Digeroo on December 03, 2009, 15:25:46
I think that the carrots like a good handful of BFB. Might try using a good amount of recycling compost.
Well it may prove quite expensive having to buy compost and peat. I save everything i can, spent compost from potting on and all the mix from the tubs i grew my tomatoes in,it all goes into a plastic bin the riddled.
This is for Psi only, so close your eyes the rest of you, Digeroo are you peeking. ;)
I first break up the ground if its too firm I then push a spade in as deep as you want the carrots to grow, push the spade back and forth until for get a V shape.
Line the bottom with leaf mould and fill the V with a mixture of dalek compost, sharp sand and sieved soil, this is known as the Corny mix and was invented by me.
Anyone in the Enfield or surrounding areas will have my permission to use it, others will have to PM me for the OK, yours lovingly CK. ;D ;D ;D
I broke all the rules this year and grew carrots in a recently manured bed. (had to, the sh*t got spread everywhere :(). I've had my best ever crop with no forking, and the same goes for my parsnips. Sha'n't risk it again though!
TeeGee grows them like that. ;D ;D ;D
My carrot soil recipe is:
Take one 8x4 bed - fork the existing soil lightly and apply 1 x 60l bag of compost and one builders bag of sharp sand, fork in.
Finish off by adding another 60l bag of compost and rake to a fine tilth.
Sprinkle potash on bed (prevents hairy carrots and allegedly make them sweeter) rake about a bit
Sow seeds, sprinkle your preferred slug/snail repellant and cover with Enviromesh
Water and ignore until ready :D
Quote from: cornykev on December 03, 2009, 16:39:59
This is for Psi only, so close your eyes the rest of you, Digeroo are you peeking. ;)
I first break up the ground if its too firm I then push a spade in as deep as you want the carrots to grow, push the spade back and forth until for get a V shape.
Line the bottom with leaf mould and fill the V with a mixture of dalek compost, sharp sand and sieved soil, this is known as the Corny mix and was invented by me.
Anyone in the Enfield or surrounding areas will have my permission to use it, others will have to PM me for the OK, yours lovingly CK. ;D ;D ;D
ha kev!now I am ITK no-one can beat me(us), here come the carrots. I'll let you try one!
I'll use my old salad bed, dig in some dalek compost and SS and soil - sounds wonderful dunnit? corny kev's crazy carrot creation. like it. :D
Sorry I peeped. ;D ;D
I like the idea of using the spade to make a V shaped trough. I am not clear on quite where in the V the leaf mould goes.p
One of my plot neighbours grew carrots in manure and they were huge aliens with multiple twisting stems. Dr Who would be proud of them. She did not like the look of them so she gave me one, tasted great.
I think the V idea comes from TeeGee, but the reason I use it is because I used to dig small trenches and the time it takes to dig them out and how much it takes in back fill them a V is quicker and you carrot soil goes a longer way, but thats just me being tight. ;) The leaf mould lays across the bottom of the V, but I do hoe a bit out to make it flat.
I like the name Psi I might copy right it.
;D ;D ;D
The V is brilliant it is not only the time saved, but you are much more efficient in the use of the planting mix. Afterall the carrots are not trench shaped. Will definitely give it a go for parsnips.
I've never tried it with parsnips, I've just dropped the seeds in and never had a promlem germinating or growing and I've never thinned them out.
You should have seen the look on a few of the lottie owners faces when I pulled my first ever parsnips, bloody years we've been trying and never had much luck.
;) ;D ;D ;D
The parsnips seem to mind the gravel more than the carrots. They are rather knobbly. Taste good though.
What do you mean by gravel. ??? ;D ;D ;D
I chopped my clay soil up with an azada and added a few bags of mushroom compost/manure mixture. Mainly clay though and very lumpy. Covered with Lidl's finest mosquite net. Carrots did surprisingly well, some are nearly a foot long! Was aiming to leave them in the ground over winter, but critters are starting to nibble on them now so dont think theyll last.
1 part peat;
1 part silver sand;
2 parts soil,
all riddled TWICE through a 14 inch (1 cm) riddle, to which I add 2 oz of Seagold and 1 oz of chlorophos per bushel.
Quote from: cornykev on December 04, 2009, 19:49:22
You should have seen the look on a few of the lottie owners faces when I pulled my first ever parsnips, bloody years we've been trying and never had much luck.
;) ;D ;D ;D
I get exactly the same from some of the old guys; hope it's not beginner's luck. I didn't do anything either, just sowed and fleeced til they germinated.