GARDENING

Gerald Filipski

Wireworms

I used to have terrible luck with wireworms attacking my carrots until I finally beat them by growing the carrots away from the little varmints. Containers are one way to keep wireworms at bay.

Choose a container deep enough to accommodate your root vegetables. Carrots can be fussy when it comes to soil. The soil should be loose and loamy( allowing the carrots to grow to their full potential) and rich in nutrients. A good-quality potting soil mixed with organic matter, such as wellrotted manure or compost at a rate of two parts potting mix to one part organic matter, is a good blend.

Sow the carrot seeds thinly on the top of the filled container and sprinkle a thin layer of soil over the seeds. Water the seeds well, but carefully; it is easy to move the seeds if you water with any force.

Keep the soil evenly moist. Unlike carrots sown in the ground, the container-grown carrot seeds tend to dry out more quickly, so check the soil regularly. Keep the container in full sun. After the seedlings sprout, thin them to approximately 5 centimetres apart.

Now, when to harvest? My grandmother called it“ spooning” and used a special spoon to gently dig around the carrots to determine their size. I recommend harvesting the first batch when they are the size of your finger, about two months after the seedlings come up. Only harvest every second or third carrot; by harvesting in this manner, you leave the remaining carrots in the soil with the extra room they need to reach full size.

Plant breeders continue to develop vegetables meant for container growth. An example of a shortrooted carrot is“ Bunny Bite” with a 4-centimetre root, ideally suited to growing in the shallowest of containers or in soil with a high clay content. Another is“ Short n’ Sweet,” a dwarf variety with 10-centimetre tapered roots.

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