Carrots

It's a basic question. I'm growing carrots for the first time. ( in containers) How do I know when they're ready to pull.:confused: Do i wait 'till the foliage dies down or what. The leaves are about 1' high and looking really healthy. They're a project from the g-childrens school, so I'd really like to get it right

 

What type are you growing Caj? You don`t wait for the foliage to die down with carrots. You want it nice and green and healthy. If it`s only about an inch high, then I would say you have a way to go yet. Just pull some of the compost away from a couple of the plants, and see how wide the shoulders are. If THEY are about an inch, I would say pull a couple. You don`t want them ready before the kids go back to school, anyway.:D

 

I think you mis-read Dai, cajary said 1` high (12") Cheers...freddy.

 

Think David should eat more carrots.

 

Yeah. Very good, all you guys:D
Dai I've got 2 types, one is a fun one that grows round (like a golf ball) and the other type she gave me is a conventional type. Don't know the variety as the seeds came in a brown envelope (obviously shared among the class).
I thought about sc r a p i ng the soil round the tops but was afraid it might encourage carrot- fly:(
Gets very protective about "her" plants, does my g-daughter. She decimates the catterpilar (Cabbage-whites), slug, snail and lily-beetle populations. If she knows there's such a thing as a carrot-fly, she'll kill anything that flies if it's not a bee:D

 

Carrot fly are attracted by the foliage or bruising of the foliage...as long as you don't disturb that then taking a quick look carefully, shouldn't cause any probs.:thumb:

 

D`oh.:o:D

 

Thanks tweaky.:thumb: I thought it was damaging the root that attracted them.
I scraped a bit of soil from the "fun" type and managed to get 2 carrots for her. She generously gave her brother one but kept the biggest for herself:D