Medwyn Williams advises ge ing your barrels ready for growing carrots
Empty out the containers and refill with sand in preparation for sowing seed
With so much happening around me at this time of year with Chelsea on the horizon, it’s easy to overlook some jobs that need to be done for the summer shows. One of those is to empty the barrels out for the long carrots. I usually try and do this during late autumn to early winter so the sand can settle back down.
The best way is to empty out the first barrel into a wheelbarrow and take it to the end of the row so you can use that to fill up the last barrel. The sand I've always used is what we call concreting sand. This isn't your regular bricklaying or plastering sand; it’s coarser than that and allows free drainage throughout the barrels. If you can’t get hold of any, I do know a few people who use softer or free-draining sand as well.
If you've had the sand in your barrels for a number of years and feel your carrots haven’t been as good in recent years, it’s probably time to empty the barrels out and discard the sand as it might well be contaminated. I find this happens any time after six years and, although sand is quite an expensive commodity these days, I’m afraid it’s a necessary evil.
The past two years I've followed what expert grower Jim Thompson has been doing, by emptying out and replacing only the top 60cm (2ft) or so of sand and simply turning over the bottom section and the bed below. This certainly saves on money and my root crops have been clean every year since.
To settle the sand I bang the sides of the barrels or drums with a piece of wood. However, I also mound the sand up slightly on each drum to allow for any further settlement.
■ Why not follow me on Twitter throughout the season as I grow vegetables for my display at Malvern – @medwynsofangles.