In the fall of 2020 we planted our carrot crop. At first the germination seemed thin, but the carrot plants thrived throughout the fall and winter. The carrots faced adversity when the deep freeze hit, but they rebounded, stronger than ever. In the end, the 2021 carrot crop was a bumper crop, producing more carrots than any other previous carrot crop we've ever had on Our Maker's Acres Family Farm. Look at how healthy the carrot greens are! The cows end up eating a lot of these once we harvest, but Tricia does juice some of them.
Although the greens are nice, the real deal is happening beneath the soil. These are Berlicum II variety. The carrots pretty much come up easily from the soil. All you need to do is give a slight tug and they come right out. I generally run my finger around the top. If I can gauge that the carrot measures 1 1/2" across, I'll pull it up.
Some of the carrots were just outright monsters. Big orange monsters!
We swish them around in buckets filled with rainwater in order to clean the topsoil off of them. The muddy water goes back into the water. I don't want to allow any good soil to leave the garden. I pulled a few beets, while I was at it. These are called Bull's Blood Beets. They are still slightly small. They should be ready in a week or two.
Tricia set them on the trampoline and got the water hose and sprayed any remaining dirt off of them. Ain't this a pretty sight!
We'll take some of the prettiest, nicest carrots that still have the greens and we'll give them away to family and friends at church.
I wish I would have weighed the carrots. The crazy thing about it is that we are only halfway finished with harvesting. There are many more carrots to pull this upcoming weekend. Tricia attributes the good crop to the Back to Eden gardening method as it has improved our soil, reduced weed pressure, and retains soil moisture. We will be filling our freezer with carrots to enjoy over the course of the year.
No comments:
Post a Comment