This was my first year planting carrots. I dug some up today to use for dinner and most had a woody center! They have been trying to flower and I have been pinching off the flower heads. I looked online and found this:
I guess they thought it was next year because of the wacky weather we have been having this spring! Next time I will know to dig them up if we have warm weather followed by a cold spell! Aw well, live and learn!
We've all been there! It's just a part of life to learn to read your garden. I tend to have issues with my lettuces. They turn bitter on me if I let them get too big. My dad's never seem to get bitter no matter how big they get! Seems unfair! LOL!
Farmgirl Sister #1438
God - Gardening - Family - Is anything else important?
Arctic Flower
True Blue Farmgirl
85 Posts
Marjorie
Nenana
Alaska
USA
85 Posts
Posted - Apr 25 2011 : 2:55:37 PM
Well, I guess you need to move to a Northern climate where the soil stays cold all year. Just kidding. What may have happened is "Vernilization". This is a process by which you trick a plant to go to seed by changing the temperature from warm to cold to warm. Since carrots are biennials they need a cool warm cool cycle to produce seeds. Since you said the weather has gone from cold to warm to cold, it caused the carrots to think they had been in the ground all winter and warmth triggered them to set seed. When they set seed the carrot goes woody. next time let them go to seed. You might get a crop of great seeds for the next planting and you will get to see the whole life cycle of the carrot. The seed heads are really pretty and they attract butterflies and other beneficial pollinating insects. Gather the seeds when they turn brown. Seed saving is a great way to go green and saves money on increasingly expensive seed.
I guess I really should have let them go to seed but I need the space for my summer veggies. I do square-foot gardening and have limited space available. Hmmm....could this be another reason to expand the garden!?! LOL!!
All root crop vegtables pull enormous amounts of nutriants from our soil and will deplete it in a season, rotate your root crops and amend, amend and amend some more that soil before you plant any crop there again...P.S. carrots also need more water than alot of other root crops, but not too much or they will rot...
Edited by - oldbittyhen on Apr 26 2011 09:22:41 AM
Woody Carrots
Posted - Apr 18 2011 : 3:25:45 PM
