Allotments 4 All

What's a good type of early carrot - all the seed catalogues confuse me by giving me too many to choose from!

I'm looking for something that tastes sweet and is crunchy and will grow in pots undercover early in the year and outside (but still in pots) later.

I already have some of the little round ones, but wanted to try something longer.

(I can't grow carrots in the ground as my heavy clay and the slugs get them before I do!)

Early Nantes are my normal ones, nice slender roots that do fine in pots. If you look back in the gallery you will see how they turned out this year.

Jerry

I cannot recommend any carrot other than "Early Nantes" because as a beginner that's all I have grown but would add they were a great success, the whole family has consumed them with no complaints ;D

This is going to get boring - but Early Nantes is a good one. I grew some once on a sort of hot bed, sowing seeds in Nov/Dec I think, and had carrots Jan/Feb when there was snow on the ground  (I did make a temporary cover over them)

 :-\  I'm going to rock the boat with that one.  I was disappointed with Early Nantes for I had a lot of ball roots that were not very big, a lot of splitting and they didn't think they tasted very good!   I know it wasn't the ground becasue the Autumn King next to them have been superb!

Has anyone got any other suggestions for Earlies?

Also I know they shouldn't be planted on recently manured ground but not sure how long teh ground should be left.  I manured my cabbage patch last year and double cropped it but will it still be to rich for a crop of carrots/parsnips next year?

Iain

Thompson & Morgan sell carrot Nantes Frubund. I sowed mine at the beginning of August into toilet rolls in the greenhouse. Planted them out in the allotment and they seem to be doing ok - from the evidence of one the dog dug up anyway...

I seem to recall that T&M claim it is the first true winter carrot...

Here's a link:

http://seeds.thompson-morgan.com/uk/product/336/1

Correction: they claim it is the first autumn sown carrot. Memory decay...getting old...

My dog digs carrots up too, oh and parsnips.

Is it too late for Autumn King carrots to be sown do you thinK?

I think the early nantes have it. (sorry Icky!)

Quote from: wardy on September 23, 2005, 09:11:15
My dog digs carrots up too, oh and parsnips.

Is it too late for Autumn King carrots to be sown do you thinK?

Well I'm sowing my Autimn King this weekend so I hope not. I've found in the past that I can sow up to mid October.

Ha ha!  I knew it!  It says sommat like August on the packet so I asked my lotty neighbour and she said too late  :(

Glad to hear that's bunkum.  Will so mine if it stops raining  :)

Thanks JM

I sowed Autumn King (a variety I grew last year & had great success with) on the 1st September and noticed they were thru the ground on the 11th September. However, after being away for the last week or so...a trip to the lottie yesterday doesn't show much more growth so just keeping my fingers crossed and hope I get some sort of crop...I miss my home grown carrots  :(

I sowed 2 earlier crops this year of Red Chantenay and hardly any germinated - the odd 2 or 3 in each row - a real disappointment but think a cold Spring was probably responsible for that.

One of the seed catalogues said you can sow Autumn King up until the end of October.

Aqui   It doesn't say that on the packet but I sowed two rows yesterday  :)

In that case Wardy - I might even sow another row!!