Читать книгу The Allotment Book - Andi Clevely - Страница 59

The numerous varieties – mainly orange or red but sometimes purple, yellow or white – are divided into two main groups. Small fast-maturing (‘early’ or ‘bunching’) varieties are used for early, late (see page 200) and successional sowings, while maincrop kinds are larger, take longer to grow and keep well in store.

HOW TO GROW Choose warm, sheltered sites for early sowings and open, sunny positions for other kinds. Soils should be light and friable, well drained and free from larger stones, and with plenty of organic matter from a previous crop.

Sow thinly in drills, 1–2cm (¹/₂–³/₄in) deep, in a finely prepared seedbed, earliest and last sowings in a frame or under cloches. If carrot fly is a problem, time sowings to miss attacks or take suitable precautions (see page 190). Keep the soil consistently moist during germination, and water every 2–3 weeks thereafter.

Thin in stages by pinching off surplus seedlings at surface level (destroy these to avoid luring pests); weed carefully at first, and then mulch when plants have 2–3 true leaves. Pull or fork up roots when large enough, and then firm or water the disturbed soil; clear maincrops for storing (see page 160) from mid-autumn onwards.

Sowing in modules For the earliest crops, sow a round variety like ‘Lisa’ or ‘Parmex’ in pots, soil blocks or modules in late winter. Sow 5–6 seeds in each cell and leave unthinned. Plant strong clusters 23cm (9in) apart each way in a frame or used growing bags indoors, or outdoors after hardening off in mid-spring (see page 139).

WHEN TO SOW Early spring to early autumn

GERMINATION 2–3 weeks at 7°C (45°F) minimum

SPACING Early: 8–10cm (3–4in); maincrop: 5–8cm (2–3in); all in rows 15cm (6in) apart

TIME TO MATURITY Early: 7–10 weeks; maincrop: 10–16 weeks

HEIGHT 23–38cm (9–15in)

AVERAGE YIELD 225–450g (8–16oz) per 30cm (12in) row

VARIETIES Early: ‘Amsterdam Forcing’, ‘Early Nantes’, ‘Flyaway’, ‘Sytan’; maincrop: ‘Autumn King’, ‘Carson’, ‘Favourite’