So I harvested the first bed of carrots today and they were small and had root growth off the carrot. This is my first year with carrots and am not sure when to harvest. All other vegetables I am good.

I cant go by the tops because they grow to a certain height. I was waiting for them to crown but very few did this. The ones that did were very short but kind of fat.

Does anyone know how to determine carrot harvest?

And yes I assume you pull them and look, but my theory is its possible that the ones I pull, even short, are fully grown and just the nature of a organic carrot. Meaning that even if I wait another week or two they may be looking the same or possibly with more root growth.

So if anyone has been doing carrots in thier garden let me know any suggestions.

Side note is my tomatoes are not turning red yet. I started early and had red tomatoes last year at this time. Hmmm, not sure why but I know they will turn red. I feel it may be because these are all heirloom and possibly have a slower mature rate.

Pepper, cucumbers, squash, beets and such are all normal and I been harvesting lettuce for 2 months now.

Here are some pics. You see the carrot size. I juice everything I grow mostly. So any suggestions is appreciated.

Let us know the status of your garden if you have one also.


See small size of carrots? Just picked, cleaned, and bagged my first row today. ( getting ready to make a juice)


Tomatoes...When are you going to ripen??????LOL



Juicing. I use the pulp in my garden as mulch/compost



Ahhh...."LIFE" in a glass!!!!

 

Mike, heirloom tomatoes will ripen when they get good an ready . In the meantime, you can harvest a couple, slice them about 1/4" thick, dip them in buttermilk, then cornmeal, fry them in an iron skillet with about 1/4" or less of oil......call me when they get done!!
Our garden got relegated to the deck this year. I just did not have the time to bush hog weeds, cut and harrow the garden properly. Promised myself I would do better next year.
Back deck, however, keeps the trip down to the garden area to a minimum. all the herbs, tomatoes, peppers are right at the kitchen, so when I cook, all I do is sashay out and get what I need. Really convenient.
Pix is one side of the deck garden. Other side has more tomatoes and chives, etc.
Attachment 2175

 

We pull our carrots in late summer, fall or even early winter. Honestly we've not even thought of checking ours yet (the beans went a bit crazy, but we're pretty certain the carrots are in there somewhere). Even this winter, because it was so mild, we would go looking for carrots if they were needed for a dish.

I think we're getting red/ripe tomatoes from probably 4 or 5 varieties now, and a couple other varieties are just now starting to turn. The tomatillos are filling out but need another week or two. Your plants are looking much better than ours so I don't think you have anything to worry about.

I'm jealous that you are still getting lettuce. For us it is strictly an early or late season crop. Everything just loves to bolt once the summer heat arrives.

 

I don't pull carrots until late summer, early fall but I think it has more to do with the variety than whether or not it's organic.

I have been picking and eating deck tomatoes for a couple of weeks. We have San Marzano (IMO the best plum) and some kind of cherry tomato on the deck.
Today I picked my first beefsteaks from the garden. Again variety, is the primary determining factor along with planting time. I'm a zone north of you in NJ. A good rule of thumb is to harvest root vegetables as late as possible, tomatoes when they are ripe. They will get ripe when they want to.

Incidentaly, this was my first totally "organic" year. I have been gardening for 30 years and have never used chemicals except when I thought it was really necessary. But when I thought it was needed I didn't hesitate. I fertilized with nothing but compost this year. No sprays and no soil additives.

Results so far have been encouraging. No difference in tomato, tomatillo, root veggie and squash. The only disappointment has been my strawberry patch. It really sucked and we had no harvest at all. Between insect damage (primarily slugs) and mold we got squat from a strawberry bed that usually produces more berrys than we can use. I'll go back to slug-getta and antifungal sprays next year.

Larry, I'm a born and bred Yankee, but I got to know fried green tomatoes when I lived in Charleston and I always pick some early to fry up. Tomorrow I will sit on my deck and eat a big slab of beefsteak tomato sprinkled wth lots of salt and maybe just a little drizzle of balsamic. I only grow tomatoes for that moment.

 

Larry,

Hmm... I don't think all the vitamins are in the tomato when they are green. When they are ripe on the vine that's when all the nutrients are in the tomato.

Plus frying and butter milk just counteract the health benefits of raw food.


I cook too but don't think I ever sashayed......LOL


Dane,

 

Mike

I have not planted root vegetables in a couple of years. I downsized my garden a few years back. This year I have a couple of varieties of tomatoes, and peppers, some tomatillo and summer squash.

I also have a herb garden that I will probably remove this fall. Over the years I've figured out that most dried herbs work just fine. I do have a pot with the herbs that we use fresh. I have parsley, sage, oregano, thyme, rosemary and basil. The last two we use the most. No matter how I try I can't grow cilantro, another favorite.

I but started tomatoes from a local nursery. I used to start them from seeds but we got tired of planters and grow lights all over the house let alone the maintenance required. It's easier to buy them. I put my tomatoes in the day after Mother's Day. Something I got from my parents. I'm a zone north of you so I have a shorter growing season. However I started harvesting a couple of days ago. I also picked a couple green to fry up this weekend. Sometimes eating doesn't have to be solely for nutrition.

If the photo you posted is romaine lettuce it has bolted. I'm surprised that you find it edible. I've pasted a photo of a head of romaine from Wikipedia.