Harvesting no dig carrots on very dry clay soil #shorts

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Growing carrots on heavy clay is very possible! It’s a myth that they need dug over soil with added sand to it. Sure, if you want to grow exhibition extra long carrots, you’re probably best to grow them with all the extra care you can give them. But for just regular table carrots, that’s not necessary.

My method:

- Surface mulch the bed in winter with rich organic material, like manure, homemade compost or a digestate (byproduct of the biogas industry). I usually do a mix. If the bed is established and free of weeds you only need about 2cm of mulch or too dressing. This will feed the soil with nutrients, improve drainage and at the same time improve moisture retention. After mulching I walk on the bed to make sure the material stays in place.
- Sow the carrot seed directly in the soil in drills, or shallow furrows, in the top mulch from end of March or April. Cover the seeds lightly, firm down and water with a fine rose or spray on your watering can. If very dry, it’s best to water into the drill or furrow before you add the seed. I spring i cover the rows with horticultural fleece (30g thickness minimum to make it last) to speed up germination. The fleece raises the temperature slightly and keeps the moisture in.
- Keep the bed free of weeds and look out for slugs! If you have problems with carrot root fly on your plot (as other growers or neighbours if you can) you may want to cover your growing carrots with a fine mesh. It has not been a bad year for this particular pest, maybe due to the unusual weather.
- I water very rarely and not at all after the plants have established. If you can, keep them regularly watered (maybe a deep drink once a week if no rain) and you should get lovely carrots.
- As I mentioned ☝️ , if the taproot is disturbed the carrot will fork so be carful when weeding. To maximise the size of your carrots you can thin the rows. Either by removing the smallest seedlings. Or remove the largest fastest growing and eat as baby carrots and the smaller ones will fill the space. But again, be gentle as any disturbance may give you forked carrots.

However, forked carrots taste the same a s regular ones ☝️

Wondering when to sow your carrots next year? Download my free sowing plan when you sign up to my mailing list! TAP the link here 👌