Higgs Boson wrote:
Brooklyn1 wrote:
songbird wrote:
Higgs Boson wrote:

I just harvested some carrots which I had earlier transplanted. *They
seemed to do very well. *But what's weird is that these carrots had
"hair" all down the length of them.

Is that normal for a transplant? *I don't do it that often. *Never
noticed this before. *IAre these carrot putting out tiny rootlets as
they adjust to new home? *That's all I can think of.

Your input valued.

*a root hair is increased root surface area
for absorbing nutrients/moisture.

*as the plants were originally grown they
would have had their soil environment all
situated right from the start. *in other
words they'd have their root surface area
in close contact with the surrounding
soil moisture and organisms.

*when transplanting you remove their
support network so they would have to
replace it.

Precisely... that's why carrots are not transplanted... and its
support network is never adequately replaced... unlike a tomato plant
a carrot root is the part you eat, it is is not the fruit. *A
transplanted carrot can still flower but it will never develop an
edible root... you can prove this by cutting off a carrot top and
placing it in a pot of soil and keep it well watered.

*how do they taste? *those hairs would
come off with scrubbing or peeling. *so
no big deal there, but i'm wondering if
they'd be less tender or sweet.

They'd be limp and have a much shorter shelf life... like old men. LOL

But seriously, root vegetables are not transplanted, they're thinned;
carrots, radishes, beets, turnips etc. *Didn't yoose notice how these
veggies are not sold in flats with the other veggies? *These are
termed "direct sown", not all direct sown are root crops, corn doesn't
transplant either, neither leaf lettuce, and several others. *Every
seed pack that says to thin does NOT say to replant the thinnings. For
those who are "seed cheap" and cannot bring themselves to toss out the
thinnings simply sow more accurately and further apart, however carrot
seeds are extremely tiny so not easy to do. *Commercial farmers use
very precise/pricy seeders so thinning is minimized, more to save
labor than seed. *Haven't any of you noticed that when carrots are too
long in the fridge they have put out a mass of hairy rootlets and have
begun to mold and rot... harvested carrots placed in a dark dank place
behave as though transplanted, they attempt to continue growing but
obviously they fail. *I buy a lot of carrots, in fifty pound bags when
I can find them at a good price, because I feed them to deer. *After
about a month in the fridge the last dregs are all hairy and beginning
to rot, but the deer eat them anyway, I just feed those more heavily
to get rid of them. *Usually the large bags of carrots are from
Canada, they are also at least twice as large as the typical market
carrot... those are grown especially for commercial operations, saves
labor preping for soups/stews. *They are actually a sweeter, tastier,
more tender carrot... if you find those try them... often I find them
in 5# bags too. *And before you ask I have a second fridge in my
basement... any serious vegetable gardner needs a second refrigerator
freezer, much handier than a stand alone freezer. *And a basement
fridge needn't be pretty/pricy. *I bought mine from a local family
owned 2nd generation appliance dealer who refurbishes certain of the
old ones he picks up when someone buys new. *He explained to me that
some appliances are made better than others so it pays to repair those
models but many people would rather buy new than pay a couple hundred
for the repair. *He said it costs much less to make the repair in his
shop, but folks can't survive without a fridge and have only one. *For
an 18 cu ft no frills I paid $100 delivered, more than ten years ago,
still going strong.

***I learned my lesson. No more transplanting root veggies. Note,
however, that I wasn't being manically parsimonious in replanting
rather than thinning. As explained above, I had to clear out the
area, and thought I could move the little buggers.

Tx for all the good advice.

You're welcome.

I used to grow carrots when my daughter was small, kids love to pluck
and eat. But for a long time now I haven't grown carrots, I don't
grow things that I can buy all year at the stupidmarket far cheaper,
better quality, and with less effort than I can grow. A couple of
years ago I tried to grow celery, what a disaster. It took a long
time to grow and it looked fine, but it was so bitter and woody it was
inedible. I'll never again complain about the price of celery at the
market.