Carrot Harvest 2008

This year I am trying square foot gardening. I have 2 grow boxes that I've used for 2 years and just this year I decided to divide it into squares and try this new method. This is my carrot harvest I got out of 8 square feet (1/2 of one box). I was pretty pleased with the amount of carrots I got, but of course I couldn't enjoy all the fruits of my labors without ruining it somehow.

I picked about half of the carrots one day and then got so busy I wasn't able to do anything with them, so I just left them in a bucket with greens and dirt and all. By the next morning all of those carrots were like wet spaghetti noodles they were so soft. So, Carrot Lesson #1: CUT GREENS OFF IMMEDIATELY AFTER HARVESTING. That was quite disappointing, as I was hoping for a large one-time harvest to make one of my favorite carrot-treats to freeze.

I was still able to use about half of the carrots, but I didn't get nearly as much as I wanted, so I'm going to attempt to re-plant for a fall harvest. I've never done that before, but I've heard it can be done, so watch me! It may be too late already, and I just can't seem to get organized enough to get the seeds in the ground, but hopefully I'll get to it this week.

My favorite carrot treat is called "Carrot Stuff" (creative, I know. Any new-name suggestions are welcome. I've thought "Orange Delight" might sound a little more appealing). It is a recipe my not-famous-for-her-good-cooking Grandma Orton made up to feed my Grandpa when he got old. It is very simple to make, and my mom would make it for us occasionally growing up. I love it, but am aware it's weird, so I'm not offended if no one else likes it (I'm the only one in my family that likes it). But I'm sure I've made you curious by now, so I'll include the recipe.

Carrot Stuff

Carrots, peeled and chopped coarsely

pineapple juice

sugar to taste

Cut up the carrots in large chunks (1-2 inch pieces) and put in blender. Cover carrots with pineapple juice. Add sugar (I add about 1/4 cup of sugar per quart, but that might be too sweet for some). Blend till very small chunks (Do not puree). Eat chilled, or put in plastic containers to freeze and enjoy later.