I just harvested some carrots which I had earlier transplanted. They seemed to do very well. But what's weird is that these carrots had "hair" all down the length of them.
Is that normal for a transplant? I don't do it that often. Never noticed this before. IAre these carrot putting out tiny rootlets as they adjust to new home? That's all I can think of.
Your input valued.
HB
Carrots don't transplant well so are not transplanted, they're thinned, the pulled ones thrown away.
Hairy carrrots are usually a sign of too much fertilizer..don't know that transplanting would have anything to do with it.
Phosphorus?
Yabbut I didn't overfertilize! Didn't do anything to new area but mix in a small amount of worm castings.
HB
Never knew that; hadn't had occasion to transplant a quantity before. In this case, I couldn't follow above advice; I had to clear the area for something else, and hated to waste perfectly good little carrots. Still looking for explanation of "hair".
HB
a root hair is increased root surface area for absorbing nutrients/moisture.
as the plants were originally grown they would have had their soil environment all situated right from the start. in other words they'd have their root surface area in close contact with the surrounding soil moisture and organisms.
when transplanting you remove their support network so they would have to replace it.
how do they taste? those hairs would come off with scrubbing or peeling. so no big deal there, but i'm wondering if they'd be less tender or sweet.
was the soil quality different between the starting spot and the finishing spot? was the finishing spot sandier and dryer?
songbird
On Tue, 27 Dec 2011 03:45:17 -0500, songbird wrote:
Precisely... that's why carrots are not transplanted... and its support network is never adequately replaced... unlike a tomato plant a carrot root is the part you eat, it is is not the fruit. A transplanted carrot can still flower but it will never develop an edible root... you can prove this by cutting off a carrot top and placing it in a pot of soil and keep it well watered.
They'd be limp and have a much shorter shelf life... like old men. LOL
But seriously, root vegetables are not transplanted, they're thinned; carrots, radishes, beets, turnips etc. Didn't yoose notice how these veggies are not sold in flats with the other veggies? These are termed "direct sown", not all direct sown are root crops, corn doesn't transplant either, neither leaf lettuce, and several others. Every seed pack that says to thin does NOT say to replant the thinnings. For those who are "seed cheap" and cannot bring themselves to toss out the thinnings simply sow more accurately and further apart, however carrot seeds are extremely tiny so not easy to do. Commercial farmers use very precise/pricy seeders so thinning is minimized, more to save labor than seed. Haven't any of you noticed that when carrots are too long in the fridge they have put out a mass of hairy rootlets and have begun to mold and rot... harvested carrots placed in a dark dank place behave as though transplanted, they attempt to continue growing but obviously they fail. I buy a lot of carrots, in fifty pound bags when I can find them at a good price, because I feed them to deer. After about a month in the fridge the last dregs are all hairy and beginning to rot, but the deer eat them anyway, I just feed those more heavily to get rid of them. Usually the large bags of carrots are from Canada, they are also at least twice as large as the typical market carrot... those are grown especially for commercial operations, saves labor preping for soups/stews. They are actually a sweeter, tastier, more tender carrot... if you find those try them... often I find them in 5# bags too. And before you ask I have a second fridge in my basement... any serious vegetable gardner needs a second refrigerator freezer, much handier than a stand alone freezer. And a basement fridge needn't be pretty/pricy. I bought mine from a local family owned 2nd generation appliance dealer who refurbishes certain of the old ones he picks up when someone buys new. He explained to me that some appliances are made better than others so it pays to repair those models but many people would rather buy new than pay a couple hundred for the repair. He said it costs much less to make the repair in his shop, but folks can't survive without a fridge and have only one. For an 18 cu ft no frills I paid $100 delivered, more than ten years ago, still going strong.
***Yeah, I figured as much. But why not at the bottom, instead of all along the length. No biggie; inquiring minds... ***Carrots tasted fine. Hairs came off easily. ***Soil basically the same.
HB
***I learned my lesson. No more transplanting root veggies. Note, however, that I wasn't being manically parsimonious in replanting rather than thinning. As explained above, I had to clear out the area, and thought I could move the little buggers.
Tx for all the good advice.
HB
You're welcome.
I used to grow carrots when my daughter was small, kids love to pluck and eat. But for a long time now I haven't grown carrots, I don't grow things that I can buy all year at the stupidmarket far cheaper, better quality, and with less effort than I can grow. A couple of years ago I tried to grow celery, what a disaster. It took a long time to grow and it looked fine, but it was so bitter and woody it was inedible. I'll never again complain about the price of celery at the market.
***I've had a few disasters too. Gave up on broccoli after some dismal results. Same with Brussels sprouts. And another veg whose name I cannot recall. Has a gluey, sticky nature.
Do they have farmers markets where you live? Your carrots would be a lot fresher and possibly organic purchased there.
HB
Farmer's markets sell the same produce sold at stupidmarkets only lesser quality... The farmer's market dealers rent a booth but sell someone elses produce, typically what they buy for cheap at the local produce wholesale warehouse because it wasn't up to snuff to ship. What you want is to shop at "farm stands", typically a shed at roadside directly in front of a grower's property, farm stands sell produce that is grown on that farm... many are tended to by the farmer's children or an elderly relative because real farmers haven't the time to both tend to a stand and farm. And many farm stands are on the honor system. I live in a very rural area with lots of farmers around, several do have a farm stand of some sort and many of my neghbors who only have a family vegetable garden still set a table roadside in front of their house and sell their extras by the honor system. I thought to do that but swaping crops with my neighbors who also garden works far better for me... a few of us just leave a bag of produce at each other's back door, no one keeps score. I would never shop at a Farmer's Market, they're for those who have more dollars than functioning brain cells. And as to organic (whatever that is), I don't believe that fairy tale... so long as there's weather and gravity there can't be organic farm land. Hydroponic especially is chemical gardening. I use no chemicals in my garden, but still when it rains and snow melts there is run off... and most all the best farm land is bottom land. Yoose want to pay double for your food, be my guest, helps keep my grocery bill lower. You go to the market and there's a bin of peppers, twenty feet away is a bin of organic peppers, those peppers look identical because they are identical, in back they all come out of the same crate, and they often choose the nicer looking ones to put in the organic bin, which is ridiculous, because if there are no worm holes and insect bites it cannot be organic... just about every piece of produce I harvest has/had some creepy crawly living in it... I rely on the birds, they do a very good job of keeping the insect poulation down and fertilizing... and I find plenty of bird pecks as well. Anyone can BUY an organic farm certification. ALL grubbermint inspectors/agencies can be bought. Organic farming is purely theoretical, it's not reality... actually it's a green giant scam.
YESSSS!!!!
HB
Molly, we miss you so!! Hope you are still stirring things up, wherever you are!
Whoa, there, buddy! It depends on where you are. In my "green" community, farmers' market exhibitors are STRICTLY supervised. So I think your blanket statement about farmers' markets needs some qualification.
What you say about supermarkets could have some validity, which is why many of us try not to purchase produce from them. Especially not imported from countries that use the pesticides that the US exports to them.
As to farm stands, they must be wonderful, but I haven't noticed too many lately in the middle of even a small city.
HB
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