Brendan Little answers your carrot questions
Brendan Little, gardening expert for ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Northern Ireland answers your questions about growing veg. Send Brendan a question.
Derek Middleton from Crosby Merseyside asks: I have very sandy soil - good for carrots and my carrots appeared to grow well. However, on harvesting many of them are strange shapes and look deformed. Is there any reason for this?
Answer: Carrots should not be grown on any soil which has been fertilized in the previous year. Forking of the carrots is usually the result, so less T.L.C. should remedy the malady.
Maureen Pitman from Dorset asks: Why are my carrots planted at the beginning of the summer in a pot standing on a garden bench (to avoid carrot fly) still only very tiny in autumn, yet the ones planted on my allotment are all a good size? My basil just did not germinate.
Answer: It is always more difficult to grow veg in pots, watering for example is always more challenging and if the pot is a terracotta one the situation becomes even more difficult. I suggest that you run a low mesh net around the bed, 12 inches high is sufficient, to keep the female carrot fly at bay. It is the females who do all the damage and they cannot fly.
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