Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Carrots and Krautchi

I had a lot of problems earlier in my carrot bed. Germination was fine, but the cutworms were very bad. Obviously a lot of cutworms eggs had been laid the previous fall. I planted them where my seed mustard was. The hope was that it would keep the nematode problems down. Mustard is a natural way to fumigate the land from them. I didn't anticipate that the cutworms would like the mustard so much though. I would guess that about a quarter of my crop was destroyed. Maybe a bit more. Not that you can tell from the photo, but I thin to about 3-4" apart. The cutworms thinned much father apart. And there is one sixth of the bed with almost nothing at all.

I noticed that some of the carrots were showing above the bed. Some years they seem to hide and I have to dig down to find them. But some years they show themselves. It was time to start picking. I won't pick them all at once. I don't need this bed for another three weeks. So I'll pick some. Once they are used up, I'll pick more.

I planted my beloved Mokum carrots of course. Many carrots taste bitter at this time of the year. Mokum is always sweet and tasty to me. It isn't a large carrot at 5-6" long (well by the book, I've had it grow to 8" one year). But I'm always on the lookout for another to plant near it. This year I trialed Nelson. It was described as a good summer carrot as it tastes good when the weather is hot. This one is 6-7" long.

Of course a trial means I have to know which carrot is which. Did I write it down where I planted each one? Nope. Not on the blog, not in my journal. Not on my planting map. I think Nelson was put on the northwest side. I think. Maybe taste would tell me which one was which. I know Mokum will taste sweet and delicious. If one is bitter, then I know.

I cleaned them up. I used a trick I used to use with my garlic when I had more than one variety. When you trim them, trim one higher than the other so you can tell them apart. I left some stem on the top of one. It really helps if you KNOW which one is which to start with though. The ones I think are Mokum were a bit shorter than the Nelsons, so that jibes. I tasted the one I thought was Mokum. Yup sweet and so delicious. It will be nice not eating store bought carrots anymore. I tasted Nelson. Also a really lovely carrot. Sweet, but not quite as sweet as Mokum. I think the flavor is a bit more complex though. Very nice. It is a definite keeper. Last year I tried Yaya. It was sweet enough without bitterness, but it lacked the depth of flavor that a carrot ought to have. It was insipid. Both Mokum and Nelson are very good. I think my summertime carrot trials are at an end. Unless some other blogger proclaims a summer carrot above all others, I'll stick with these.

And the mustard crop I used to keep down the nematodes worked to an extent. I did see a touch of damage, but not much. Definitely not worth the cutworm damage.

And as a quick update, I decided to use one of my Chinese cabbages to make a couple of quarts of Sauerchi, Kimkraut or something like that. I made it like you do sauerkraut. Chop up the vegetables and use a dry salting technique. Then jam them into jars. But I seasoned it like kimchi (or as much as I can without peppers). I used garlic, ginger, and cilantro. I didn't use any sugar or fruit to keep the fermentation under control. And I'll let them ferment for weeks not days. So it is more like an Asian flavored Kraut.

They joined the fermenting station in the dining room. I might make more this week with the last cabbage. It seems like a very nice way to preserve the cabbage. Tasty and long lasting.

11 comments:

  1. Nelson and Mokum are the two varieties I am growing this year, and were 2 of the 3 last year (Danvers being the 3rd). I found Mokum was recognizable because it was skinnier than the other two, but that could be a function of "knowing" it should be picked young. You are right, Nelson has a complex "carroty" flavor that is really enjoyable.

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  2. I'm following your fermenting experiments with great interest! I've been thinking of getting one or two of those airlocks (instead of the weigh-it-down and release-the-gas method I've used in the past) but they are so pricey I'm waiting to see what you think of your results.

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  3. I made something similar to your Krautchi, only I let it ferment just a few days and then let it "age" in the fridge. It's tasting good now.

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  4. I have never had luck with carrots here. Yours are beautiful! Your jars of fermenting goodies look tasty. Can't wait to here how they turned out.

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  5. Even with the cutworms issue, your carrots look amazing!! I hope mine look just as good! Still have at least a month, maybe more before harvest.

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  6. I have to say none of my spring carrots are particularly sweet tasting, including Mokum, Nelson or Yaya. But we eat most of ours cooked, and they all are pretty tasty then.

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  7. It seems to take forever for carrots to grow here, so I'm probably a couple of months away. I didn't mark where my three varieties were, but it should be obvious - one was a rainbow mix, one variety is Nutri-Red (very dark orange) and then the Nantes.

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  8. Your carrots are looking great! I'm ashamed to say that I haven't even sown my carrots yet - but now I am down to the crunch (hee hee - just noticed the pun). I'll be looking at fall carrots for the late maturing varieties but that's ok - they are sweeter than anyhow. I hope that your krauchi works as planned.

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  9. sorry to hear the nasties have gotten to your carrots - they are such beautiful looking carrots daphne! and good to hear they are a sweet variety. home grown ones invariably have better flavour than store-bought ones.

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  10. Lovely carrots. Only getting blueberries right now from my veg garden.

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  11. Nice carrots! I thinned mine tonight and tasted one and it tasted a little bitter I thought. I buy my seeds from the store as have a small garden and have never seen Mokum before. Since it is sweet in summer I would like to try it. Will have to keep my eyes open. Nancy

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