Container Garden Experiment.....Carrots! The Results are in...
This year I decided to do a couple of experiments growing Carrots in containers. I did 2 different size containers, and I then planted one of the containers a month apart just to see where and how the time of year would be for planting. The idea was to determine if you can get 2 planting of carrots out of 1 season, especially in a zone 4 climate. So read on to see photo's of how this all turned out.
This is my first container I planted my carrot seed in. I chose the jumbo type carrots. I used a mix of sand, black earth and sheep manure as my mix of soil. I purposely chose not to fertilize my carrots, as this was also a component of my experiment. I did space them out when I planted so I did not have to weed out the growth. I planted these seeds on May 26, 2017. I harvested them this morning Aug 23, 2017. Understand please that we have had a really really rainy summer which may have affected the growth of these carrots. I had them in full sun location. This container is a 5 gallon, bakery icing bucket I purchased for $1 at our local bakery, and I just drilled holes in the bottom and placed rocks for drainage, and added sand to my soil mix to help with drainage.
Here is a picture of what I pulled out of this bucket of Carrots.
Now onto my other container (more like a planter) of carrots. I have 2 of them. This one is the first one I planted on May 26, 2017.
This planter I did weed out for spacing early on in mid June. I also decided not to fertilize this planter. I used the same soil mix as my 5 gallon bucket. The following is a picture of what I took out of this planter this morning.
So all in all the total harvest from my two containers this morning was this haul on my table.
Now mid July like 17th, I decided to plant another planter of carrots, just to experiment with the length of the growing season. My goal is to harvest this planter Thanksgiving weekend which is the 9th of October here in Canada, and serve them at my Thanksgiving dinner. So this picture is how far they have come in just over a month. Also the location of this planter is part shade, so this may hamper the growth of the plants. But we shall see.
In Canada we have such a short growing season, that I need to be able to test and experiment with growing to get the best or maximum ability to grow as much as I can with the space and land that I have. Hope you enjoyed my post and all you apartment dwellers out there, have a new motivation to get out there and grow some carrots too. It can be done. Your not going to fill your freezer but a meal or two would be a nice treat.
Happy Trails
Not a bad haul for an experiment. The second crop looks like it's off to a good start already. It'll be interesting to see how they do. Fingers crossed for another decent haul!
Thank you @aunt-deb I will take the tops off of those and put them in water to grow roots, then plant them indoors this winter for yet another experiment
Good thinking!
Stigmatatata from Lake Titicaca!
Mine did well this year in a rubber made box. I grow most of my food in containers. Due to health troubles and lack of sun. Found containers to work ok for use. Nice not to need to weed as much. Funny my porch gets the most sun. So I was forts to try container gardening. End up I like more than my old in the ground gardening. My solar take up the space I do get the best sun. But that is a must for me. We live in SC and the 110 days with out AC would not be good lol. I did resteem and following now. Thanks for the post.
Thank you for the Resteem. I would love to see your pic's of your container gardening. I was in South Carolina Myrtle Beach for March Break with my little one and it was blinkin cold the entire March Break. LOL Summer's must be different.
Looks like a Victory to me! yum! I really appreciated this post and the time it took to conduct what could be considered a (gasp) informal study into the potentials of container gardens in the Canadian Climate.... also I just love carrots :) Well done @gardengirlcanada! hope you had a hearty munch! fresh is best!! @wuji!
Thank you
Thanks for the post! Looks like you got a good crop. We also have a short growing season and therefore I chose not to plant carrots this year. But, thanks to your experiment, I think we'll give it a try next season!
That's the spirit. Where about's are you located? Thanks
Hi @gardengirlcanada, we are in a northern Midwestern US state. Sorry to be so vague, but would rather not say exactly.
meep
I'm surprised that you didn't get any problems with carrot flies. I tried growing my first batch of carrots in the garden, and they did not do well, as most of them got infested with carrot flies, with their larvae burrowed quite deep in. I've learn my lesson and I am practicing companion planting this year with garlic and chives to ward off those pesky flies. I haven't harvested my carrots yet, so I don't know how successful that method is yet. It is good to see you have success with your carrots.
Thank you. I have never really had a problem in all my years of growing carrots with flies. I do mostly raised beds and container gardens so that might be why.
Thanks for sharing your "experiment" with us here on SteemIt. I think that we all need to be able to grow some of our own food. It's a skill that could help to save our lives - and I'm all for being self-sufficient. Who knows what could happen? Upvoted and Resteemed.
Thank you for the vote and the Resteem. I could not agree more. We all need to be more self sufficient. It is possible anywhere that you live.
Nice haul. I grow sweet potatoes and potatoes in burlap sags. They do really well. Now I need to try carrots too.
Best of luck. Please do keep us up to date if you do try. Thanks Following you now
Thanks.
I'm letting some transplanted tops go to seed in a bed of decomposed granite. I'll see how those come out.
What a great idea. That is something to consider for next season. I will take my tops and grow them indoors this winter as yet another experiment.
Wow! l love gardening.. follow you for more!
thanks for sharing :)
Thank you for the follow. I have followed back just in case you get the itch to post something from your garden.
You choosing to not fertilize your carrots on purpose was a good idea, especially if you want single straight carrots, because too much fertilization can often make carrots fork into multiple roots.