CARROTS IN THE SNOW

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.

I was surprised that the carrots did this well in the shade of 7-foot-high asparagus plants!