180 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



YOUNG CARROTS ALL THE YEAR ROUND. 



BT A KENTISH GAEDENER. 



|OUNG carrots are not usually considered delicacies during 

 May and the two following months, for they are theu 

 plentiful everywhere ; for in these three months nothing 

 is more easy than to place upon the table a dish of 

 young and tender carrots. To have them in excellent 

 condition during the other nine months, when they are looked upon 

 as delicacies, is quite another matter ; and, although it is not a 

 difficult task, some knowledge of the proper dates for making tho 

 sowings is essential. 



The usual March and April sowings for summer use in a young 

 state, and for storing for use during the winter in soups, etc., have 

 of course, been already made, and we have now to consider the next 

 sowing, from which a supply of young roots may be had late in the 

 autumn. Now the proper time for making this sowing is about the 

 middle of July. The seed-bed should be on a warm south or south- 

 west border, where the soil is light and rich. A space five feet wide 

 and eight feet long would suffice for a large family. The seed should 

 be sown broadcast, for the object is not to obtain a few heavy roots, 

 but large numbers of small ones. If the seed is sown thinly, and 

 when well up thinned out two inches apart each way, there is plenty 

 of space to grow roots as thick as a man's middle finger, which is as 

 large as carrots are wanted for the table. At this season of the year 

 it is the better plan to water the ground before the seed is sown, 

 and then cover the seed with fine moist soil. If the weather is dull 

 it will not need shading ; but as shading is far better than continual 

 watering, which hardens the surface, it is always best to lay upon 

 the bed a few green branches, to break the force of the sun's rays ; 

 this saves much labour in watering, and the seed comes up sooner, 

 because the shading helps to keep the seed uniformly moist. I may 

 remark here, once for all, that slugs are particularly fond of this 

 esculent, therefore a sharp eye must be given to all crops in all their 

 stages of growth. "When sown in the open ground, a mixture of 

 soot and lime scattered thinly over the bed and round its sides and 

 ends is the best preventive. When grown in cold pits or frames, 

 the same application is serviceable, but in this case the surest cure 

 is to trap them by the aid of pieces of cut carrot, or lettuce, or 

 cabbage leaves. If these are distributed about the pit or frame, 

 they are sure to take up their quarters amongst them, when they 

 can be caught and killed at once. 



It is not possible to keep those sown at the end of July in good 

 condition in the open ground after the end of October, or, at latest, 

 the end of November. But much in this respect will depend upon 

 the nature of the soil. If light and sandy, they will keep longer ; if 

 stifi" and cold, the slugs will be sure to disfigure them, unless very 

 carefully attended to. To guard against a mishap, it is best to sow 

 again in a pit or frame that occupies a south position on the first of 

 September. This crop will furnish nice roots in mild winters from 



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