Keep up watering your short carrots
As we start sowing, it's key to making sure they form a good stump end
There’s not much doubt that the stump-rooted carrot ‘Sweet Candle’
F1 is the best variety to grow and show in the class for ‘carrots other than long’.
I introduced this variety more years ago than I care to remember and ever since its introduction it has consistently won at all the major National shows. And let's not forget it’s also brilliant for the kitchen as well, being nearly coreless and very sweet, as the name implies.
The one concern I do get from some growers is that it tends to grow quite long and sometimes doesn’t form a stump end. However, as some top growers, such as Ian Stocks and Ian Simpson, have proved, given good growing conditions it provides some stunning examples. The one thing to remember is that the stump end on the carrot develops towards the end of its growing period.
The length of the carrot can be controlled through regular watering. You must never allow the bed to get dry. If you're growing outdoors, even after a shower of rain, make sure the bed is moist right through. The carrot is a tap root and, as such, if the bed is too dry, it will continue downwards in search of moisture.
You need to give the carrot time, and for the Welsh Championships and the National Championship at Dundee, assuming they still go ahead in these strange times, you must get the seed sown this week. My stumps are grown outdoors in a raised concrete block bed that’s filled with concreting sand. I core holes out to 45cm (1½ft) in depth and 18cm (7in) each way along the bed. For this purpose I've had a stainless steel corer made as I find that plastic ones crack after a while.
The mixture I fill the bore hole with is quite simple. I use one bag of Levington F2S, 300g (10oz) of Medwyn’s finely ground calcified seaweed, 225g (8oz) of Medwyn’s base fertiliser and 50g (2oz) of Nutrimate powder.
Sow two to three seeds on top, there’s no need to sow any more as the germination rate on ‘Sweet Candle’ is excellent. Finally, I cover the bed with fine grade Enviromesh to prevent not only the fly but also the dreaded rabbits as well!