Allotments 4 All

Have a few rows of carrots left, with frost on the way do I have to lift them ? I would prefer to leave them if I can.

I always leave mine in until I need them. I dig them up a few at a time as needed.

ours get eaten by slugs so we have them in a box of compost in the garage with the celeriac, parsnips and beetroot  ;D

What Manics said...  ;D

Our allotment gets very wet and boggy in the winter so it's difficult to get to and harvest stuff properly. I had an old recycling box/crate with lid, the type you put out with your cans and bottles for collection. I filled it with a layer of carrots, a layer of sand, a layer of carrots, a layer of sand etc, etc. It means my carrots stay fresh and easy to harvest!  ;D

I usually leave some in and have never found them to get frost damaged, and they don't go to seed till well into Spring.  I like to get that really fresh carrot taste which just-dug roots have.  My slugs are a lot less active over the winter months.

Hi all,  :)

I dug some out of my raised salad beds last week, grown in spent compost they were perfect, no slugs. I`d forgotten about them. ::)

Usually I dig the whole crop around the begining of November and store them in buckets of earth in my potting shed so I can clear the ground.

Last year the ground was frozen for a month after Christmas I wouldn`t have been able to dig up carrots.

Col

I have loads left still in the ground, but the longer they are left the more risk of slugging and they are a nightmare to dig when the gound is wet and boggy.  ;D ;D ;D

They are about to get frozen in as well....  :-X

Thanks for all the replies. Will have a look at the situation down the Lottie tomorrow and decide then  :)

Am leaving mine in as I havent got anywhere else to keep them, but have noticed they are getting more and more nibbled as time goes on!

Mine are still in the ground, even if severe weather comes the frost only goes in a few inches so once you braek the surface they are easily lifted. The same applies to parsnips in the most severe winter 1961/62 we stilll lifted parsnips as wanted.

farmers just cover carrots and parsnips with a layer of straw, then they can carry on lifting them as and when they need to  ;)

Mine have rotted due to the wet conditions. Next year will be mixing in plenty of sand with the soil, and pulling them for storage. Not had a good year for carrots. My parsnips are still coming lovely and sweet.