Carrots in clay soil

Is this mission impossible? Both my front and back gardens are solid clay. The back has been enriched just under a year ago with a load of mushroom compost, which has helped loads for the soil condition, but probably not so great for carrots.

I've never grown carrots before, which is a shame because its one of the most used veg in our house. I've always been put off by tales of them being too particular about their soil.

Should I bother?

 

Hiya C1.

I'm certainly no expert, but I reckon that if you can get carrots off to a good start, then you're half way there If it were me, then I would try to add maybe 2"- 3" of a peat based compost to the top of the bed, and keep them watered, even before they appear.

Should you bother? I reckon so :thumb:

 

Some of mine did fine in the clay, as long as its kept damp & doesn't turn into terracotta, there's a lot of nutrient in it.

 

A few suggestions:

Sow them anyway, they will produce a root of some sort - it may even be better than you expect.

Or do that using a "globe" shaped variety

Or make a frame a few inches tall and put that on top of the bed, fill with sharp sand and sow/grow them in that. Incorporate the sand after the crop is harvested, and over the years (using rotation) that will improve the clay anyway.

Grow them in pots. I use old multi-purpose compost from another crop, or the pots of "failures", and mix it 50:50 with sharp sand.

 

Or you can make planting holes with a dibber, fill with compost or old grow bag soil, or a mix with sharp sand in it and grow in that.

Or similar to Kristen's globe variety idea, grow a stump rooted variety.

Steve...

 

I grow mine like Kristen in containers / boxes anything about 8 inches deep & I had some good results last year Im doing the samt this year with some plastic boxes Ive sat at the end of my raised beds doing it this way leaves more room for other things

 

I do that with Parsnips, but I only grow 50 Parsnips a year ... I only did it once for Carrots - far more carrots, number-wise, than Parsnips! - but its definitely a good plan if you don't have too many.

Incorporating compost / sand overt he years (even if it is only using a Dibber for planting holes, the soil will improve and you won't need so much "faff" in future years. Raised beds help, my heavy clay soil is now really workable, I made the raised beds about 5 years ago - all I did was make "lazy raised beds" digging out a spade's depth ("Spit") of soil from the paths and piling it on the 4' (max) wide beds in-between. I have now made smart wooden edges for them, but I din't have time or money to do that for the first few years. ** NEVER ** walk on the raised beds, and cultivation should only need to be minimal (digging spuds, leeks, parsnips etc.) will be all the cultivation it needs, but you can dig them if you like - and you should dig them, proper "double-digging", the first year to give them a flying start, or [if you have bad back whatever] you can use the Lasagne-method to make the beds a bit taller and convert the soil to something more workable.

 

Steve R has the right idea but don't use a wimpy dibber ! Use a crowbar (sometimes called a prybar). Drive this into the ground about 14 - 16 inches and work it in a circular motion, this will form a 'sandglass/eggtimer' shape in your clay soil. Fill this with fine compost ensuring you fill the bottom section and water well then top up. Plant three seeds at each station and thin out to one later. You will be pleased to know that clay soil is very water retentive. Cheers, Tony.

 

Don't need a 14" - 16" hole for Carrots - unless you are growing for exhibition. For Parsnips that would be worthwhile ... but I still think the planting density of Carrots means that its way to much "Faff" to make individual planting holes.

 

I'm over your way, Clueless, so I've got the same thick clay. I started improving the veg bed soil a couple of years ago by chucking all my old container compost onto it then forking it in a bit. Nothing too strenuous. It's in a reasonable state now.

I've grown carrots in this bed the last couple of years with no problem. They are a bit of a pest to pull. The clay that's still in the soil doesn't want to give them up easily. I've snapped loads off trying to get them out. I've start using a trowel and digging down alongside the carrot and lifting it from the side slightly. That seems to help. But generally carrots are ok in my clay, My 'good' veg bed soil is only around 20cm ish before it gets down to the clay again.

Jo

 

I use an old half moon edging tool, with the moon cut off. It;s perfect for both carrots and parsnips, due to its length the holes are dibbled very quickly, I did 100 last season in around 10 mins. Then I just empty 2 old grow bags into a wheelbarrow and sieve it directly onto the bed, rake it around with the back of a rake, water it and sow the next day. Prep is around half an hour, sowing 5 mins then protective mesh erected.

Thin seedlings in the evening to avoid the root fly. I grow Autumn king so big carrots, 100 of them is more than enough. I also grow a smaller one Nantes2 in pots for quick summer use.

As everyone here is saying, eventually the soil will come good as it is in my back garden now, whereas 5 years ago I was cutting bricks of clay out of it, now on my new allotments I'm back to lumps of clay again for a few years.

Steve...

 

"Thin seedlings in the evening to avoid the root fly."

I think Enviromesh protection of Carrot beds is the only way. Even a few carrot fly getting past your defences, whatever they may be, is going to wreck havoc with the carrots, so I favour a 100% impenetrable barrier against the blighters ...

 

Yup, I do that Kristen, but I do my thinning when the carrot fly are least active so I can lift the mesh and get in and thin/weed.

Steve...

 

Good point well made :thumb: