- Why Carrots Fork
Soon it will be time to grow carrots in the garden. They are fun and easy to grow and come in a rainbow of colours these days – not just orange.
You do need to dig the soil over to spade depth and add compost now, in preparation for sowing in a month or two. It’s often said that compacted soils and stones in the soil cause forking of carrots. New research has shown that forking is actually caused by a pythium fungus disease which attacks the growing tip of the root.
This is caused by overly wet soils with too much compost added. So, in heavy soils, mound up the rows of soil for planting the carrots and don’t over-water the growing plants.
And do try out the purple and cream and red carrots – they look wonderful in salads.
Hooroo, Don
