Rooted vegetables

Our root vegetables have proven themselves here in our heavier soils and some varieties have overwintered well with a little mulch for protection. We recommend pulling the harvest and overwintering in a cool root cellar.

Many root vegetables such as beets, parsnips or carrots can stay in the ground until freeze up extending the growing and harvest season. Plants must be mulched with straw to extend the season further in freezing weather. This method has enabled us to pull carrots in late December. Most root vegetables get sweeter with cooler weather and light frosts.

Tip: We start most of our root crops in cell packs with the exception of pelleted carrot seed. Once the seedlings are 2 inches high, we then plant out in the cool moist soil in early spring. Planting root crop seedlings in dry hot weather can stunt them. Early spring and end of August are best when the sun is not so intense and there is plenty of moisture in the soil. Timing is everything.