From: pintiha@jhmi.edu   
      
   On Saturday, August 3, 2019 at 1:27:54 AM UTC-4, Bloke Down The Pub wrote:   
   > "Pavel314"  wrote in message   
   > news:4f41e3aa-5409-48a2-b0ab-092fbb8e3247@googlegroups.com...   
   > My wife got some seeds for a Japanese carrot which is supposed to grow two   
   > feet long "in the proper soil". So I spent the morning making the soil   
   > proper in one of the garden rows. The area is about three feet across and   
   > six feet long.   
   >   
   > I dug it out to a depth of two feet, hitting red clay about a foot down. The   
   > red clay will go in some low spots in the back pasture. I then put some   
   > perlite and sand in the bottom of the pit and dug it into the base clay a   
   > bit. Next came about a foot of compost, followed by another sprinkling of   
   > perlite and sand. Finally, the topsoil which was removed was replaced and   
   > raked smooth. A bit of compost on top of that gave her a good bed for the   
   > seeds. Seems like a proper carrot bed to me.   
   >   
   > Very strenuous work for an old man but good exercise. I'll report back in a   
   > few months on the length of the carrots. I hope they appreciate all my   
   > efforts.   
   >   
   > Paul   
   >   
   > How is your wife going to get a 2 foot carrot in to a pot? I am imagining a   
   > bratwurst shaped carrot.   
   >   
   > Many years ago, when we lived on a clay sub base, in order to get a decent   
   > crop of parsnips we would hammer in a metal stake and then whirl it around   
   > making a hole like an hour glass, this we would fill with compost and then   
   > plant the seed on top.  I am not sure if this really worked but we always   
   > got parsnip shaped parsnips, broad at the top and tapering down to the   
   > bottom.  The only "problem" was we had to do this every year whereas digging   
   > over a suitable bed would have saved a little effort.   
   >   
   > Mike   
      
   I'm sure she'll cut them up before cooking. She's just growing these as a fun   
   project.   
      
   Very clever idea of the metal stake method for growing parsnips. Just give   
   them a column of compost to grow in, instead of digging up the whole bed.   
      
   Paul   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)