Been planting and harvesting carrots for decades. One of my fav's. I plant the Danvers variety, the soil isn't as much of an issue. I till and sift as best as I can and plant. When they start coming up, I use grass clippings between the rows and gently drop dry clippings over and around the carrots. I do enjoy a warm June day to thin and weed carrots. Its a bit of a task but I actually look forward to dropping all my cares and bask in the sun. I harvest sparingly to thin some out. In November, just as the ground here in S. NH is beginning to freeze, I fill large plastic trash bags full of leaves and place them right over the rows, covering as much of the crop as I can. This is a great insulator, push the snow aside and I have carrots until March. The ground under the leaves is soft and carrots come out easily. Works great for parsnips too. Problem is there is now more snow to remove!
Been planting and harvesting carrots for decades. One of my fav's. I plant the Danvers variety, the soil isn't as much of an issue. I till and sift as best as I can and plant. When they start coming up, I use grass clippings between the rows and gently drop dry clippings over and around the carrots. I do enjoy a warm June day to thin and weed carrots. Its a bit of a task but I actually look forward to dropping all my cares and bask in the sun. I harvest sparingly to thin some out. In November, just as the ground here in S. NH is beginning to freeze, I fill large plastic trash bags full of leaves and place them right over the rows, covering as much of the crop as I can. This is a great insulator, push the snow aside and I have carrots until March. The ground under the leaves is soft and carrots come out easily. Works great for parsnips too. Problem is there is now more snow to remove!