Snow has melted considerably over the last couple days, so
today I dug into the straw-covered carrot bed and pulled a few to add to a
stew. Quality of the remaining Rainbow
and Bolero varieties proved excellent except for just a little loss of taste in
the cores at the top couple inches of the largest of the Rainbows. One observation, though: the voles have been
feasting on them. I’m not sure how many
will be in bad shape by March. Clearly
this is an increasing problem, as last year I had almost no damage in ones I
harvested in April and kept until July. Next
year, I’ll try to protect them better with ¼” mesh galvanized hardware cloth buried
a few inches deep and extending a foot or so above ground. I’ll also do that around the beets and
parsnips intended for overwintering, although those haven’t been bothered so
far.
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| I was surprised that the carrots did this well in the shade of 7-foot-high asparagus plants! |
