Growing long carrots for show

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Growing long carrots for show- a second view

Another member of the National Vegetable Society explains how he grows his long carrots for showing.

My main interest is growing and showing vegetables for collections and I grow all the 20 point kinds. Over the past few years I have had a lot of success with long carrots, they have usually been my bankers - until 1993 when everything went wrong!

My carrots had an aphis attack even before I had thinned them which was the main cause of my problems. No matter how much I sprayed after that first attack the damage was done. The carrots stood still. Then some started showing the signs of willow aphis attack, the centre dying back, discoloured, distorted foliage, and the yellowed and purplish leaves caused by motley dwarf virus (which is spread by the aphids) leaving the carrots stunted, producing a poor crop. Talking to other growers I found most suffered the same problems. So nothing is guaranteed and we must not get complacent.

The method I use is as follows. Oil drums are placed in a sheltered but sunny location and filled with red sand which has had the clay washed out of it leaving it quite sharp (noisey) and well drained. The sand is turned out each year and refilled.

Bore holes are made by inserting a 3 inch (7 1/2 cm) plastic rain water pipe and lifting out a core of sand into a bucket (this can then be used for topping up other barrels). Bore to a depth of 4 feet (120 cm) and slightly widen the top of the hole. Seven holes are made round the perimeter of the barrel, none in the middle.

The compost for the bore holes is made up of equal parts of fresh sand, the same as that used in the barrels, and moss peat, both put through a 14 inch (1 cm) riddle. Then add to each bushel:

4 oz of Chempak BTD;
2 oz of Seagold;
2oz of lime;
3x5 inch (12 1/a cm) pots full of fine grade vermiculite;
a good dose of chlorophos.

I then mix the lot thoroughly - using my concrete mixer.

Fill the holes with the compost rubbing it through your hands as you go. After filling give each station a good watering to settle it in. Coat the seeds with seed dressing and sow 4 or 5 seeds per station, cover with 14 inch (1 cm) of compost. Finally cover the barrels with polythene or agrifleece.

Good germination is needed, so the barrels must be kept moist at this stage.

I sow the seed in the second and third week of April aiming for sizeable fresh carrots over a five week period - starting with the National Championships through to Harrogate.

The seedlings are thinned to two when large enough to handle at the third true leaf stage, then down to the strongest of the two. The covers should come off around the beginning of June. Keep the compost up to the plants to keep them upright - my theory is that "if the seedlings are laid over they start twisting in the boreholes". Look out for greenfly even at the seedling stage and spray every ten days. Use occasional foliar feeds.

I sink a 5 inch (12 1/2 cm) pot in the middle of the barrel and water via the pot when the weather is dry. Loosen the sand around the carrot occasionally and nip off any side shoots at an early stage, they don't appear very often - only in seasons like 1993!

When lifting the carrot, I scratch carefully round a few and try to match for size around the tops, then give the carrots I've selected a good watering from a watering can. Allow the water to soak in and gently pull the carrot out. It gives one a great feeling when one pulls something good, up to 3 feet (90 cm) long with good shoulders and meaty all the way down, straight and of good colour.

By growing in sand one gets a better quality carrot so no scrubbing is needed when preparing for the show, just a soft sponge, the carrot submerged in water and gently wipe round, not up and down, fine roots picked off and a soft toothbrush in the crown. Wrap them in wet tissue or cloths and keep them out of the light.

I always seem to be in a rush at this stage, give yourself time and do the job right.

On the show bench one often sees people spraying the carrots just before the judges arrive but if you've grown them well and treated them carefully, while cleaning them, nothing looks better than to see the carrot on the bench dry with a lovely sheen. They stand out from the rest. Good growing.

This article originally appeared in the Members Bulletin now called Simply Vegetables, the journal of the National Vegetable Society, which is sent quarterly to members. You can Join the National Vegetable Society here

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