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Carrot Varieties & Types
There are four different types of carrots that all have unique characteristics known as Nantes, Danvers, Chantenay, and Imperator. The first type is known as Nantes, which has a cylindrical shape with the same width and is perfect for storing in jars after harvesting. The next type is Danvers which is known as being the Bugs Bunny carrot that has broad shoulders and fairly sharp taper towards the bottom. While the Chantenay is the short stubby carrot that works the best in hard or clay-like soils in the garden. Lastly, the Imperator is the really long slender shaped carrot that works perfectly in sandy soils. The
Viper variety of carrots which is an Imperator type is known for producing the baby type carrots that you commonly see in grocery stores today. If you want more of a Danvers type carrot, Travis recommends growing the
Danvers 126 variety. For the Nantes type, there are several varieties such as
Bolero,
Scarlet Nantes, and our new
Gold Nugget carrot. The most carrot varieties that we offer are Imperator types that include
Deep Purple,
Purple Haze,
Yellowstone, Viper, and a new variety coming soon is Black Nebula. The Chantenany type carrot that we have coming very soon to the site is called Royal Chantenay which will work great for people with harder soils.
Planting Carrots
Similar to planting onions, when planting carrots they should be planted on double rows with
drip irrigation in the middle along the row. This allows us to not only save and maximize space in the garden, but it also helps with weed suppression. Travis recommends placing the drip tape anywhere between 2 to 3 inches apart and using the
drip tape layer attachment to create a little furrow on each side. Then, you can simply plant the carrot seeds in the furrow along the garden row. Greg mentions when planting carrot varieties, be sure to plant them thick. In order to grow carrots, you also need plenty of patience and a good stale weed seed bank to ensure they germinate. The fertilizer system the guy's like to use on carrots is place a little chicken manure in the furrow before planting the drip tape. Then, use
20-20-20 and
Micro-Boost every 2 to 3 weeks throughout the growing season in the vegetable garden. If you set up your garden using the double row planting method, you can use the
single wheel hoe between the middles to control any weed problems in the garden. When removing the weeds that are closer to the plants and near the drip tape, the guys recommend using the
Single Tine Cultivator.
Show and Tell Segment
On the show and tell segment, Greg and Travis try out some elderberry jelly and cowboy candy that a loyal viewer sent them. Travis has planted his first set of cool weather crops in the garden and more to come towards the end of the week. At the end of the show, the guys give a little hint about the topic they will be discussing on next week's show.
Viewer Questions Segment
On the question and answer segment this week, the guys answer questions about dealing with pest problems and using gravity feed with drip tape. Greg mentions that when planting fall sweet corn, you are more than likely going to deal with pest problems in the garden area. The best products to use when dealing with worm problems is
Spinosad and
Monterey B.t. Travis talks about using gravity feed drip tape in the garden. Although it could be done, it's not overall feasible and you will face many obstacles in return.
Products of the Week
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO6HIqWnITY
