Do you Care at all? Cover my shoulders.....

Late season carrots are wonderful. Sweet, crunchy, fresh....but there are a few tips to keep in mind.

On a cool spell in August, an overcast day, I planted two short rows of carrots. I kept them watered and they came up in about a week. I thinned them when very small and again as fingerlings, see second photo. A quick scrubbing and the baby carrots make a great snack.

When I harvested my earlier crop of carrots, along with a couple of cukes and the first of my bush beans, I noticed the tell-tale signs of carrots being a little neglected. The red blush at the shoulder of the carrot tells me that the shoulders were left exposed when I was working in the garden. (In the bottom photo, the carrot on the right was in trouble, the one on the left looks normal.) Maybe I loosened the soil when thinning or perhaps when I was weeding I exposed the tops. No real harm done for now, but in the fall it's quite another story. Exposed shoulders are an invite for trouble---slugs lead the group of crusaders. So, if you "Carrot All", cover up the shoulders of this darling of the fall garden.