Last night was another cold night and this weekend's forecast is even colder so it is time to harvest our carrots. We have been eating them fresh for the last 2 months out of the garden. With each light frost (less than 25 degrees F) the taste of the carrots gets sweeter and sweeter so that is why we keep them in the garden as long on we can. Last year we were able to keep them in the garden all year. When the temperature dropped below 25 we simple covered the carrots with a black plastic and they made it all winter!
We started off digging using of new broad fork. A few weeks ago we built one and you can see the video here. https://steemit.com/homesteading/@shalomacres/diy-broad-fork
I must admit using the broad fork made quick work of digging based on the width compared to a shovel. We placed them into milk crates and brought them into the house for further processing.
Next we took off the tops, cleaned them in a bucket, and started to clean them further by removing the skins.
Then we simply cut them into slices we froze on cookie sheets.
Finally, we cut some into strips for snacks around the house, gave some to our neighbors, and put the rest in the refrigerator for salads and soups. In total we harvested just over 50 lbs of carrots. We would typically can some of these but we still have plenty of jars from last fall.
Our family typically plants the Oxford variety for two reasons: flavor and depth of soil required. Last year we planted some of them back from the seeds we harvested. This is all part of being self sufficient on our little homestead.
Thanks for reading, upvoting, commenting, and resteeming
Those are great looking carrots!!! I’ve tried to germinate carrot seeds befor but couldn’t get them to work! Just curious..donthe carrots make you “look” better? Haha what’s up doc
LOL - that is all I can say! If you plant fall carrots and leave them in the ground all winter they will produce seed the next summer...LOTS of seeds!!
Hard Soil!!! I have tried to grow carrots but no luck. If I do try again I will need to put them in containers. I do eat my fair share of them so it probably would be a good idea to give it a try again! Also when you said depth of soil does that mean that some varieties will grow deeper than others?
@simms50, I would definitely try growing the oxheart variety, they grow shorter and fatter than a typical carrot. Some of them look like a pointed turnip, and we love the taste of them. Our friends up north (in Missouri) grow them successfully in their garden is VERY rocky! I typically grow them on large rectangular plots not in rows, them we thin them when weeding. Good luck next year, I know you can get them to grow!
That is a good example of "make your own pie and eat it too". In this case grow your own carrots and eat them too.
Nice job you are doing.
Thank you @gardeningabc!
There is really nothing that can compare to a home-grown, cold weather-sweetened carrot. It is literally an entirely different vegetable than the ones found in stores. Im curious what agricultural zone you're in? Here in the midwest zone 6a we can keep them in the ground covered in straw and row cover until early January.. Nice post! I'm new here to Steemit, and look forwrd to following you! @schoonercreek
@schoonercreek we are in zone 7a. I like the idea of covering with straw, sounds like a great way to protect them from freezing.
That's a smokin ton of carrots. Thanks for giving me the bugs bunny cartoon flashbacks ;-)
Thanks thedailylaugh. I must admit some of your cat videos have been hilarious!
I found out that cats actually do serve a purpose, they make me laugh! I'm going to put out another cat gif tomorrow so keep your eye out