Carrots anyone?

Take a gander at these suckers.

And yes that’s a dime down in there. The picture was snapped looking straight down on the beasts. What’s shown here weighs about a pound and a half…..and I still have 2 15 foot rows of them. I had no idea they’d grown so big. I’ve been feeling like a nice beef roast complete with spuds and carrots so I pulled a few to see what they looked like this year after having such a beast of a time getting them to take off last spring. Guess I’ll be buying a lot of beef and pork roasts. Weird growing year for sure.

Nice looking carrots Tom. With the cooler weather, crock pot roast sounds good

that middle-left one has a kickstand that could make any man jealous. Good grief!

Every year I put in a garden, and I usually think I do OK. Then Tom posts something like this and I lower my head and wander off in shame. You, sir, have the green thumb. I sure don’t LOL.

SR

Wow, those are some large carrots!

Steve Root wrote:

Every year I put in a garden, and I usually think I do OK. Then Tom posts something like this and lower my head and wander off in shame. You, sir, have the green thumb. I sure don’t LOL.

SR

some years i can compete with Tom on certain things. carrots are one this year……..cuke tomatoes onions…..not so much!!

There was no drought season this year…good for produce.

We scrubbed these dudes up and tossed them in a roaster with a nice beef roast and some spuds at the cabin on one of the nice 40 degree days. I was amazed at how tender they were And sweet. Great eating that’s for certain.

slipperybob wrote:

There was no drought season this year…good for produce.

I can attest to all the rain that went through the twin cities and Rochester this year and cried every time I saw it! We down under ya’ll here got nodda! Largest dry season I’ve ever seen here!

What variety did you plant Tom? I did Denver half longs as I have done previous years. They don’t seem as sweet this year. I’m thinking of trying a different variety next year. How did you preserve them? We peeled, blanched and vacuum seals them. Some people can them, a guy at work also stores them in a root cellar.

Tom Sawvell wrote:

We scrubbed these dudes up and tossed them in a roaster with a nice beef roast and some spuds at the cabin on one of the nice 40 degree days. I was amazed at how tender they were And sweet. Great eating that’s for certain.

One of my favorite all time dinners, all winter long for that matter.

I like carrots, but when stewed with a beef roast and the flavor and juices cooked in…best way to eat carrots ever.

MNdrifter wrote:

What variety did you plant Tom? I did Denver half longs as I have done previous years. They don’t seem as sweet this year. I’m thinking of trying a different variety next year. How did you preserve them? We peeled, blanched and vacuum seals them. Some people can them, a guy at work also stores them in a root cellar.

I could not find the seed for half longs Drifter so I went with straight Danvers. I’m pretty sure it was a combination of the weather and heat that got them so large. Also, I had a devil of a time getting carrots to take off this year so both rows were what I would have called “thin”. I haven’t lifted the rest yet but I’m sure I’ll be sending some towards the kids. We wash the freshly dug carrots and let them dry then store in green bags in the fridges. As a rule we’ll have carrots until March or April the following year. I might try a pail full covered with vermiculite kept in the garage this fall until the garage temp gets below 25 degrees. We are not fans of frozen carrots.

“I like carrots, but when stewed with a beef roast and the flavor and juices cooked in…best way to eat carrots ever.”….Andy Cox

Bingo. I’ll eat more carrots than meat. Or potatoes.

Good stuff Tom. Can’t wait to make a roast, but wife and I vowed only to grocery shop for the staples (bread, milk, butter etc.) until the freezers are cleaned out enough for a deer or two. The only roast I’ve got is two prime ribs. One I am saving for Christmas, the other I was going to cut into steaks. I’ve heard for sweeter carrots to wait until after the first frost, but my tops were starting to die off. Not sure if they got nipped by frost before I started covering them So I pulled them last week.

I normally won’t dig carrots until they’ve had a hard frost on the tops. Ma wanted some for the cabin and that’s how I found what these were. What are in the ground yet will stay there until after that first hard frost, then I’ll dig them.

I’ve covered fall carrots with a real thick layer of grass clippings/leaf debris that’s gone thru the mower after the first hard frost and left them in the ground until well into December/early January. The mulch keeps the ground from freezing hard but one does have to keep an eye on really hard frost in the ground intruding from the sides where the mulch doesn’t cover. Any more I dig and wash them the day after the first hard frost, dry them and bag as mentioned.

They sure look purdee and like what you plan for them them. Mine must of grew upside down with the drought we had is year.

I just took a few more up for another roast for today’s dinner.

The one on the right is 3 1/4″ across at the widest spot and 5 3/4″ long…a serving in itself.

The other one is for tbro’s porno carrot judging.

^ post reported for vegetable erotica.
This is a family site.

greig john wrote:

^ post reported for vegetable erotica.
This is a family site.

Have you taken a good look at this family? lol

Tom Sawvell wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>greig john wrote:</div>
^ post reported for vegetable erotica.
This is a family site.

Have you taken a good look at this family? lol

Ha, that’s fair.
(And I’ll never kink-shame.)
Carry on.