first timer produced tiny carrots - please help!

[othermotte]

I couldn't see a beginners section, so I hope that it is ok to post here?

Last year was our first serious attempt to grow vegetables and it went pretty well, except that our carrots were tiny. I want to avoid the same problem occuring this year and could get really use some advice on what might have been gone wrong.

The carrots, of differeing varieties, were sown as seed in June, in a brand new raised bed. The bed contained about a third each of topsoil, non-peat compost and vermiculite. I know June was a bit late-ish but, according to the planting guide, should have been OK (we are in Kent btw). The bed was irrigated and watered regularly.

The foliage above ground looked fine and healthly. But when we harvested in September the carrots were all the size of my little finger, of thereabouts...and I have small hands!

I have just been out preparing the bed for this year and was suprised to find quite an extensive matting of fine root materail. Some carrots were left in over the winter, to see what happens, and my wife contends that these were the cause of the matting. I am not so sure and think they may hold a clue as to why things went badly.

Finally, I have broken up the matting and removed the big clumps but wonder whether I need to get it all out or whether, having broken it up, it will rot down in time without impacting this season's crop?

Gary

[Husker]

Hi Gary, and welcome . The advice I'd give about carrots would be to make sure the soil is nice and loose, not compacted, but since you're in a raised bed I wouldn't think that would be a problem. Did you thin your carrots after they came up? Overcrowding can cause small carrots. After the carrots come up and are established (2-3 weeks) pull out the smaller plants and leave about 1"-2" between each carrot plant you leave so they can expand as they grow. It sounds like everything else you're doing is fine, as far as watering and fertilizing with the compost in the soil. As for the root matting from last year I think you'll be fine. You've taken out the big clumps and the rest should deteriorate back into the soil. As long as the soil is loose, if it were mine I wouldn't worry about it. Hope this helps a bit. Good luck.

[othermotte]

Thank you for taking the time to reply.

I didn't do any thinning out last year, so this might well be the problem. I had thought there would be enough space in between but, armed with your advice, I'll give it close scrutiny this year.

Thanks again

Gary

[johntheeng]

Thinning is a must and as Husker says approx 2" needed.

[Kimby]

Hi Gary

My carrots were quite small as well last year, I put mine in a bit earlier than you did and very few of the seeds actually germinated. I must admit that I was very bad at feeding my veg last year - a lesson well learnt! Remember to give your plants some feed, try and dig in some organic fertilizer like chicken manure pellets, and leave them to rot down before putting your seeds in, to give them a fighting chance. An occasional feed of another fertilizer when the seeds are in will also help. Got my fingers firmly crossed this year too!

As for the matting and roots that you found, it's definitely something to keep an eye on and pull out when you can. If you leave a border around that area that you can check regularly it'd be a good idea. A colleague of mine has found loads of roots snaking through their veg patch which they've had to try to pull up and my newly dug beds had mint in them which I kept having to get rid of!

Good luck! Kim