CHAPTER XI 

 Home Grown Vegetables 



Storing Carrots and Turnips 



Q. Please instruct me how to store Carrots and Turnips properly. 

 I have lost many through improper storage. A. 8. T., Edinburgh. 



A. On the approach of severe weather, that is generally during 

 October, the Carrots should be very carefully lifted, some of the 

 superabundant earth removed, the tops neatly cut off, and the roots 

 stored in sacks with the heads outwards, filling in the crevices and 

 covering with sand. They may also be stored in clamps out of 

 doors in the manner often practised with Potatoes. Or they may be 

 stored in a frostproof shed in layers with straw between each layer. 

 The Turnips would be better used as they are lifted, but they 

 may be kept for a time, in the manner advised for Carrots, in a 

 frostproof shed. 



On Growing Cardoons 1 



Q. I should be glad of some help in the matter of growing the 

 Cardoon, a vegetable I am fond of, but which is greatly neglected. 

 -i/. U., Monmouth. 



A. We do not recommend you to try to propagate the Cardoon 

 from the shoots sent up from the roots, as it is so readily raised from 

 seed sown after the winter has passed. Seed should be sown in the 

 places where the plants are to be grown. Sow the seed in little 

 bunches about 18 inches apart in rows 4 feet apart. The plants can 

 then be thinned to one at each station, and in due time secured 

 to stakes. Blanching should take place when full growth is attained, 

 i.e. during August. It takes about two months to blanch properly. 

 If you wish to save time you could sow seed under glass in May and, 

 after planting out, adopt the French method of covering each plant 

 with straw thatched from the bottom to the top around each plant. 

 A small ridge of soil is drawn to the foot, and blanching is perfected 

 in about a month. The Cardoon does not meet with the favour in 

 Britain with which it is regarded on the Continent, where the stalks 

 and midribs of the inner leaves are esteemed in soups and salads. 



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