Rowlett story: digging of the carrots

[kchervey]

Rowlett story: digging of the carrots

One of the things we did on Independence Day was dig up our carrots. We did not pull them up because they were stuck in the ground enough that those attempts just broke off the green things (stalks??). I used a full size shovel (spade) to get completely under them which means I ended up digging a hole a foot deep and approximately 2' x 2' in size.

I thought you might have some interest in what we learned/saw, so here goes.

1. The Carrots
We got plenty of good ones. I estimate 95% were good. Some were small, some were large in diameter, some were large. Some were spongy, so they went to the compost. Some were double carrots like conjoined twins. Some had small carrots joined to the side of big carrots. Some looked like they had been visited by a critter doing some munching on them.

The seed was put out in an empty portion of the garden in Autumn, and forgotten when it looked like they were not growing. Sometime early this year we noticed they were growing. We decided to dig them up to have a place to plant the cucumbers and because they were crowding the squash. We have eaten much of them, and they tasted good.

2. The soil.
The garden is built over black clay. It became a garden after being the site of an above ground pool. Installing the pool meant the soil had to be completely grass free, and level. This was lots of work removing the grass, and using lots of washed sand to get it level, and of the right type to be walked upon by "swimmers". Last year we removed the pool, and added amendments like lava sand, green sand, compost, and humus. The carrots were planted in a place that previously had tomatoes. This year (after planting the carrots(, we added lots of coffee grounds (still adding) to the surface.

When digging the soil it almost was stratified as we would encounter sand, lava, and clay. It mostly seemed to be good, but the clay is a problem for tubers like carrots--we are also growing potatoes, and have grown onions--not sure when to dig the potatoes as the leaves are all still green.

Now the hole has been filled with the removed soil and more coffee grounds, so hopefully it is more crumbly (friable?) for any future tubers.

3. The bugs n critters.
There were lots and lots of them. Many more than I remember being there Rowlett story: digging of the carrots when the pool was first taken down.

Earwigs?? There were plenty of these.

Ants. Nothing scary. I assumed they were harmless.

Ran into a pocket of white small egg looking things. My daughter thinks maggots.

Earthworms. Not the larger nightcrawlers, but the red worms. I encountered dozens, but was disappointed I did not see more.

Grubworm. Just one.

That is all that I remember.

That is the end of my story about carrot digging.

[Kathe Kitchens]

If I could suggest lots of compost, cornmeal and molasses I think you would find your soil much looser and plants able to grow more easily. You can rough up the top inch of the soil and spread cornmeal by hand, then water it in with liquid compost and molasses (easy to find at Lowe's). The fact that your soil is still compacted indicates that you need to loosen the soil more and this method will work well (and take lots less elbow grease) from my experience! Plant some more carrots and you'll get a fall crop too. I have done it the last 2 years! Happy gardening!

[Gar]

kchervey
Great story. When does it go to press? Possibly a best seller?
Good to hear your carrots made it in black clay. I have never had luck in anything but sandy soil. Maybe in 2 - 3 years, when my black clay becomes good fertile soil, with much compost tilled in, I will try carrotts again. Let us know when the next chapter, in your story, comes out. We will be waiting.

[kchervey]

Thanks for comments back.

Something I forgot to mention. There were lots of "rolly polly" bugs--(pill bugs???)

A soil update. We dug two of our potato plants this week. That soil was also stratified with sand and clay.

I like the compost and cornmeal suggestions. Am already using coffee grounds and dried molasses. I was kind of hoping the earthworms would help with the soil.

Kent (that is the k in kchervey)

[Kathe Kitchens]

Glad you felt my suggestions helped. I meant to include that you might want to back off on the coffee grounds. They are pretty acidic and you might be throwing the pH off in your soil if you add too much, even though the soil is naturally alkaline. Like everything else, a little goes a long way. Just put the extra grounds in your compost pile instead. The worms really seem to like them. And I know adding the compost will really help. Stimulating and adding more microbes helps to naturally aerate the soil and could correct your separation problem over time. The molasses is great for that but you might just need more beneficial microbes. Both are inexpensive and work well. Lots of people add sand to their soil here, with the same effect you got, but compost is much better. Sulfur is good for the roly-polys (sp?) but it's too hot to use that right now. Add some in the fall when the temps are below 90 in the daytime. You can use a granular or liquid fertilizer like Bioform that has it already in there. The sulfur will help with iron uptake too for greener plants with more chlorophyll. Or you could use the liquid Bioganic insecticide. It's really safe but it will take out some beneficials too. I'd stick to the sulfur option, myself. It's so great sharing info with other gardeners! I'm looking forward to the second chapter too! :D

[Kathe Kitchens]

I realized that I didn't explain why using the Bioform right now was okay, whereas plain sulfur isn't. Sulfur melts at a low temp and would burn your plants. Bioform has ingredients that buffer the sulfur and won't burn. Thought I ought to clarify that!

[kchervey]

We plan to do what you say--at least as much of it as we can.

I am so frustrated with the tomotoes this year that I threatened to pull them up and replace them.

The cherries are fine, but when we get a decent large one, something eats them. My wife says birds.

HG is alway saying "don't forget to feed the birds", but I don't think this is what he meant.

Kent

[Kathe Kitchens]

Kent,
You can get the Bioform, liquid compost and molasses at your local Lowe's pretty inexpensively. They have it at the one in Garland and the one in Rockwall. If memory serves, those three products all total will run you about $30. Not too shabby, huh? And the cornmeal can be any old cheapo cornmeal. They don't carry that at Lowe's but literally the cheapest bag at the store will do. Happy gardening and let me know how it all works out, will you? I love great stories!
Kathe