This year I am trying square foot gardening. I have 2 grow boxes that I've used for 2 years and just this year I decided to divide it into squares and try this new method. This is my carrot harvest I got out of 8 square feet (1/2 of one box). I was pretty pleased with the amount of carrots I got, but of course I couldn't enjoy all the fruits of my labors without ruining it somehow.I picked about half of the carrots one day and then got so busy I wasn't able to do anything with them, so I just left them in a bucket with greens and dirt and all. By the next morning all of those carrots were like wet spaghetti noodles they were so soft. So, Carrot Lesson #1: CUT GREENS OFF IMMEDIATELY AFTER HARVESTING. That was quite disappointing, as I was hoping for a large one-time harvest to make one of my favorite carrot-treats to freeze.
I was still able to use about half of the carrots, but I didn't get nearly as much as I wanted, so I'm going to attempt to re-plant for a fall harvest. I've never done that before, but I've heard it can be done, so watch me! It may be too late already, and I just can't seem to get organized enough to get the seeds in the ground, but hopefully I'll get to it this week.
My favorite carrot treat is called "Carrot Stuff" (creative, I know. Any new-name suggestions are welcome. I've thought "Orange Delight" might sound a little more appealing). It is a recipe my not-famous-for-her-good-cooking Grandma Orton made up to feed my Grandpa when he got old. It is very simple to make, and my mom would make it for us occasionally growing up. I love it, but am aware it's weird, so I'm not offended if no one else likes it (I'm the only one in my family that likes it). But I'm sure I've made you curious by now, so I'll include the recipe.
Carrot Stuff
Carrots, peeled and chopped coarsely
pineapple juice
sugar to taste
Cut up the carrots in large chunks (1-2 inch pieces) and put in blender. Cover carrots with pineapple juice. Add sugar (I add about 1/4 cup of sugar per quart, but that might be too sweet for some). Blend till very small chunks (Do not puree). Eat chilled, or put in plastic containers to freeze and enjoy later.
6 comments:
Holy Carrots Batman. That is quite the harvest you have there. You must really LOVE that Carrot Stuff.
I LOVE square foot gardening. It saved my life last year.
I'm going to try your "Carrot Stuff". I thought it sounded pretty good!
My mom use to feed us a salad with shredded carrots, mayonnaise, and raisins. I can't believe we ate it. Great job on your harvest!
Hmmm I'm thinking of a new name. "Bunny surprise"? Sort of sounds like you have chopped bunnies in it, maybe not. "Bunny chow"? Nothing with the word "chow" sounds very apetizing. "Carrot Share It"? Uh, no. Yup "Carrot Stuff" is a great name.
How do you know when carrots are ready for harvest? I'm afraid to pull them up. We square foot garden as well, but things aren't doing as good as I hoped, although 100 times better than any other garden we have tried! We got started really late in the year, so everything is behind, but hopefully it won't freeze until late this year. That recipe is in the family cookbook, huh? I haven't tried it, for I am not a lover of carrots, but I hope you get to make enough to fill your freezer and eat to your heart's content!
Whoa! Those are the biggest carrots I have ever seen!
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