This weekend I harvested the remaining crop of carrots. (Actually, I harvested more than that, but this post is going to focus on the carrots. Because, really, each thing I harvested was a project in its own right.) I wanted to get the carrots out of the ground, because I had noticed that some of them were rotting (those parts I cut off)…
And it was also getting hard to get them out of the ground. Some of them were so embedded they were breaking off. Those pieces are organic matter to nourish the soil, so I’m okay with that….
Except for this one…
This one looked like it had a broken leg. So I went in for the rescue with my spade…
Speaking of personification of carrots. Here’s one that looks like it’s ridden a lot of horses in its day…
And this one looks like it needs to get to a bathroom, pronto…
As you can see, home-grown carrots are an interesting lot. Some are practically perfect…
Just look at those babies! And some of them over a foot long! (No wonder they were breaking off in the ground)…
There are perfect carrots, and there are wonky carrots…
And then there are dog carrots (I figure they eat sticks and bones, they aren’t going to be picky)…
Look at that one on the left. Dog carrot and wonky carrot.
There are also those that aren’t even fit for the dogs. They went into the compost heap, and will contribute to nutrient-rich soil for our garden in a couple of years (we have a 3-year rotation compost heap, much less work than trying to create soil for the next year)…
And speaking of compost, I also left the carrot tops on the bed, mulch that will turn into vegetable matter I can turn into the soil in the spring.
I picked up that garden tool, though.
And, voila, the batch of carrots that I’ve got in my fridges, now, after drying them off a bit….
The dogs and I (and Andy) are enjoying them.