Up Rooted
Oh the first hints of fall are appearing in central New England. Colorful foliage is popping up here and there. The mums are blooming. Pumpkin spice flavored treats are starting to land on store shelves. Also, this year’s carrot harvest is in. Carrots are moisture-loving root vegetables, so this has been a great year for them.
Step one- pull the carrots. I honestly do not know how to tell when carrots are ready for harvest other than to plucking a sample from the ground. Yes, the seed packets will tell you that a certain variety is ready in 70 days or 85 days, but there is no way the seed company can know what is happening in your dirt. I pulled some test carrots and they looked good. So, I pulled the rest.
The second step was sorting the carrots. Some were very small, so I laced them through my trusty suet feeder and let the chickens have them. Some were very large. I may have awoken an elder god. Some were very slug or snail damaged. It has been a good year to be a slug or snail. Those ones I tossed in the compost pile. Remember, if it goes to the compost pile it is not wasted. Some things just need another trip around.
The carrots that are fit for storage I left on the steps to our deck for a while. If those carrots were rinsed off at this point they would never dry enough for long-term storage; they would rot. I wiped off he dirt and divided them between food storage bags. I got one bag of slightly damaged (snail nibbled) carrots. I will use those first. I got two bags of regular carrots and a bag of snack-sized carrots. Unfortunately, the very hot summer left me with snack-sized carrots that are a bit bitter. They will need to be cooked, not eaten raw.
Finally, I wanted to turn over the raised bed where the carrots had grown. Thankfully, I got some help with that.
Gardening can never be perfected. One year might be great for cucurbits, the next for nightshades. Every season has its triumphs and its failures. What is thriving in your garden this year? What is not doing well? Share in the comments!
