Life, livelihoods, and routines as we know them are suddenly very different and it all seems surreal - this word is getting a lot of use of late. In these uncertain times, surreal is spot on.
Everyday I wake up feeling like a shaken snow globe and it takes a few hours to get back to a routine that is no longer a normal routine.
I'm not cancelling gardening this spring or any spring, that is, until I'm no longer able to lift a trowel. In fact, I'm going to plant more plants and seed more seeds this spring just to spite the evil disease out there and evil in general just to cover all bases.
Onward with Spring -
One fun new planting experiment I'm trying right now is forcing full grown, store bought organic carrots to grow in soil. The end goal is not to grow more carrots for eating - that doesn't work since a grown carrot is actually the root and can't grow another carrot. Carrots are biennial vegetables, they grow leaves in year one, then flower in the second year. We normally treat or grow carrots as annuals and eat them after seeds are planted, then ready for harvest in 60 to 75 days of growth.
Carrots left in the ground from the previous season may bloom this spring if they didn't get mushy over the winter. If left over ones don't grow new foliage and flowers, then go ahead and pull and toss in the compost.
What I'm trying to grow from a mature carrot is carrot foliage then blooms (umbels). After growing well in the container for a few weeks, I'll transplant into the spring garden after they have been hardened off. I'll use cloches to cover the transplants on cold nights.
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| Carrot Flowers from Sunset Magazine |
Carrots and other root vegetables can be cut off from the end (the larger top end) and planted in soil or water to grow roots. Try this method with your kids or grandkids as an indoor project.
Why such consideration for carrots? The blooms of carrots are spectacularly beautiful and attract pollinators and beneficial insects to the early spring garden. Plus I read about a Seattle based gardener who does this every spring for pops of color throughout his garden and the wows - "what are those plants" from visitors and friends. We know what Oscar Wilde said about imitation.
Resources -
How to Grow Carrot Tops with Time Lapse
Plant Flowers to Encourage Beneficial Insects
Here's the progression so far. I planted four stubs three weeks ago and additional ones yesterday. When shopping for organic carrots in stores, look for purple and other colored carrots for a variety of bloom colors like in the photo above from Sunset Magazine.
I'll circle back later and show you the beautiful flowers in my garden ... hopefully, if all goes according to plan.
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| Carrot's cut from bottom ~2 inches length |
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| Carrot Foliage ~3 weeks after planting |
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| Carrot Roots on Stub after ~3 weeks |
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