| Growing Carrots | | Print | |
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Q: Hi Mel. It was really great to meet you. Can't wait to come again to see how your projects up there in Eden are doing. HIGH RISE CARROTS I read your new column about building a hi-rise for the carrots. What a great idea!! Although I don't need to do it because we planted in about 7-8" of Mel's mix over top of regular dirt in our 18" tall boxes, so the carrots can do what they want, but it looks like so much fun I may have to try potatoes or something next year. OUR SFG IS A SUCCESS By the way, we have been eating well from our SFG's. My friend Vicky and I both are keeping notes about what we've learned this year, being the first for both of us with SFG. When I actually write it all down, I'll send it to you. Hope all is well, Jane GARDENING SHOULD BE FUN AND EASY A: Dear Jane: It was certainly nice meeting you. You will be surprised how much work has been done on the gardens since you saw them. Yes the high rise carrot idea is a lot of fun and works very well in any SFG. Here's the basics. LONG CARROTS NEED EXTRA ROOM To house those extra-long carrots we are going to build a little apartment on top of our roof where they will fit and grow nicely. To build that, we just build a bottomless box - in other words four sides. We are going to make it out of 1x4 lumber or maybe 1x6 lumber. It will just sit on top of one of the squares and, in order to fit inside your grid (and I sure hope you have a grid because a square foot garden isn't complete without one), then the outside dimensions of your new little box would be a little smaller than 12"x12" - so it fits inside the grid in one of the squares. USE THINNER WOOD You could use thinner plywood but some people don't like the looks of plywood. As soon as you set that on top of your garden, inside your grid and fill it with Mel's Mix, you are ready to start planting your carrot seeds. Because the inside dimensions are going to be a little less than normal, your 16 plant spacing will be a little closer together, but remember, nothing has to be exact in square foot gardening. SPACING IS THE SAME You merely take that square foot, divide it in half each way by drawing a line in the soil with your finger (Have you seen the Introductory Video yet ? It shows it all in humorous detail.) and then you merely poke two holes at a time with two fingers spacing them evenly apart. Plant 2 or 3 seeds in each hole and you are all finished. I like the 1" x 4" lumber size better than the 1" x 6". You also have to consider the exposure to the air on all four sides, so you may have to water a little extra, especially once the carrots get to the half grown stage. And that's all there is to do. Once your carrots are harvested, you remove the high rise box and its soil and plant a different crop in that square foot. SFG IS EASY TO LEARN Glad you are having so much fun and success with your new SFG. Being a beginner, you have an advantage over old time single row gardeners because you don't have to un-learn so many wasteful practices. Come back to our gardens in Eden soon ! Best wishes, Mel |
