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Post by stratcat on Dec 16, 2008 23:25:18 GMT -5
In 2005 I grew a tiny amount of Dragon carrots for fun. I didn't notice the spiciness in them like in the occasional Queen Anne's Lace I taste.
My ZZ Top beard has dreads and more color. My brother and I played at a street dance this summer and an Amish girl in a buggy waved at me. ;D
john
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Post by canadamike on Dec 16, 2008 23:47:44 GMT -5
Good. Now show it off!!  It is time we get to know each other's face, don't you think? I don't know how you can grow such a beard. I tried once, it might be because of my psoriasis, I had to cut it, man oh man was it itching all the time, even at a pretty good lenght. I would have loved to have one though. I would like to go bald, but my wife would leave me and I love her too much... |
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jason
gardener
Posts: 246
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Post by jason on Dec 17, 2008 0:11:05 GMT -5
I think all the guys around here should post beard photos.
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Post by mybighair on Dec 17, 2008 5:03:30 GMT -5
Michel my friend, I already have my photo up. Didn't you know we all look like cartoons here in Wales?
OK you got me, I just have issues with putting my actual photo up on line.
The cartoon avatar is a fairly good likeness though, my son recognises it as Daddy. I guess I'll have to come to terms with not being a Mike for now.
Maybe some day my dream will be realized but for now I will languish in my Grahamdome.
Mike,
I have grown Cosmic Purple and found it not unlike any other carrot I have grown, and definitely no burning throat attached. But Wales is about as unlike South Africa in climate as you can get so I don't know how valid the comparison would be for you.
Maybe you could give it another try, but buy your seed from different source.
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Post by ottawagardener on Dec 17, 2008 10:28:52 GMT -5
Dragon is an excellent variety in my garden: vigorous, sure cropper, not bitter and tasty. The inside is orange and yellow though. Definitely no burning.
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Post by Rebsie on Dec 17, 2008 10:48:14 GMT -5
Well Graham, I was wondering whether you really did have big hair. Now I know.  OK, I just went and pulled up my Cosmic Purple carrots, which were so tiny I could have sucked them out of the ground through a straw (I dunno what it is with me and carrots, even when I can't possibly go wrong I always manage to). The flavour is pleasant enough (though my similarly pathetic string-sized Purple Dragon has a slightly better flavour and deeper colour) and definitely no burning sensation. |
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Post by canadamike on Dec 17, 2008 12:01:35 GMT -5
Well, Grahamike, we will accept you like you are... |
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Post by ottawagardener on Dec 18, 2008 9:32:30 GMT -5
Rebsie, there is always one veggie that is difficult to grow for some unexplained reason. In my garden that seems to vary from year to year though leeks are at the top of my list recently - leek moth. It took me a while to figure out brassicas and carrots for that matter. Now I know two rules: 1) they need at least some water or at least they don't want full on dessert conditions to develop best flavour (I have very sandy soil both good and bad it seems) so I like to plant them in little trenches or divets not that I imagine you have that problem in the UK normally and 2) thin baby thin!!! Still I can get bitter carrots. Dragon is the most succesful in my garden at avoiding the dreaded bitterness.
As for leeks, one day I dream of big well developed leeks.
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Post by canadamike on Dec 20, 2008 0:41:26 GMT -5
I would maybe start them in January if I was you... for some reason, I always got much better results when started bulk in styrofoam cubes than in individual cells. I think that very young they like company... They must like to share jokes or something Of course it's harder for them to be discreet when it's time to have a ''leek''.... On a more serious note, I would bet on the good fortune some dolomitic limestone would bring you... Sandy soil, oak leaves, carrots and alliums having problems... I smell a low ph. In both case the optimal is around 6.5. Oak leaves are very acid. To me, when I visited,seeing your big tree, that was the first thing that came to my mind : she must be fighting this acidity... Well, I guess you should...  |
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MikeM
grub
frost-free 365.25 + clayish soil + altitude 210m + latitude 34S + rain 848mm/yr
Posts: 91
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Post by MikeM on Dec 20, 2008 4:36:16 GMT -5
...But you are in South Africa and carrots always get sweeter after a hard frost. Could this be part of the problem? It still doesnt explain the burning though. I've never experienced anything like this with any other Carrots, though in our part of the country we don't get any frost at all. Ever. (Most of the rest of the country does, though.) Sounds like the consensus that the seed was dodgy is the most-likely explanation... Honestly, I could not imagine why anybody would want to eat these more than once! |
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Post by canadamike on Dec 20, 2008 18:03:25 GMT -5
Very definitely a Queen Ann's Lace experience....
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Post by ottawagardener on Dec 20, 2008 21:22:08 GMT -5
I tested the soil pH and it is around nuetral. The problem with the leeks is leek moth - bastards! Early harvesting alliums do fine.
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Post by canadamike on Dec 20, 2008 21:49:16 GMT -5
They are giving me problems too, but I like small leeks ans by fall they usually are gone... next year it is pyrethrum and bt for me..
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Post by grungy on Dec 20, 2008 22:53:24 GMT -5
Has either of you tried spraying your leeks with nicotine spray. You will have to respray after a good rain, but it is an old method for most insects. Wash your veggies before you eat and you will remove the nicotine from them.
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Post by ottawagardener on Dec 21, 2008 13:02:35 GMT -5
No, I haven't tried any control methods yet but I was thinking of growing under rowcover. Apparently, leeks grown with carrots is supposed to repell both leek moth and carrot rust fly. Well if that indeed works!... we'll see.
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It is time we get to know each other's face, don't you think? 
