how do you know when its the right time to pick carrots from the garden? same with onions?

Question

i planted some seeds for carrots and onions in late july. i know thats probably not the right time to make them grow, but now both of the carrots and onion's leaves are growing bigger than ever, how am i suppose to know when they are ready to be picked? i tried pulling one of the carrots and the stem broke out, how are you suppose to pick them at all?

first experience growing veggies...

Answer 1

First, kudos on keeping a garden.

Alright, for carrots, I usually wait for the leaves to be big and healthy before I check in on them. Kneel down and hold the greens aside as you use your other hand to paw the soil down so you uncover the very top of the root (i.e. the carrot!) Pick carrots when the tops are one inch around. Take the tops off the carrots. Keep them cold and moist. Carrots will spoil after about eight months.

I get my carrots then before other creatures decide to feast on them. Or, if you have great security (fences and other defenses from rodents and insects), try keeping the carrots in longer (so they can grow to blue-ribbon size).

As for onions, pick onions when their necks are tight and their scales are dry. The leaf color should be beginning to fade at the edges. First store them dry at room temperature for two to four weeks. Then store onions dry and cold, but do not freeze. Onions will spoil after about four months.

Answer 2

Did you know you can pick carrots at any time after the greens have sprouted? This is how I thin them out. The first ones are a baby carrot and are so sweet to eat. I pull them then wait about two weeks and pull some more, they are bigger and still sweet. I continue on until the plants I plan on letting go to maturity have plenty of room to grow. I pull them as needed for supper or for sharing. As the weather changes to fall I start preparing the beds for when the first frost will arrive. I mound bales of hay around the rows and when I know the frost is here I cover all the carrots up with a thick layer of hay. I continue doing this as the weather becomes colder. Mark where your carrots are so you can find them if it should snow. I have been able to harvest up till January , and yes the carrots are still good!

Answer 3

Choose the carrot with the biggest foliage on top. Use a tool to loosen the dirt around it and pull. If it's a good size, Bob's your uncle. Pull some more! If not, wait another couple of weeks.

About onions: they are ready when the tops flop down. Wait for them to turn brown, then pull them. Spread them out in the shade where they can cure. (I used an old screen door set on cement blocks). After a couple of weeks they are ready to store in a cool place, like down cellar. If you like, you can braid some of the tops at this point and hang them in your kitchen.

BTW, onions are responsive to day length so may not be making much more progress now. Both the onions and carrots can be planted next spring about a month before the last frost, as both are quite cold-hardy.

Answer 4

You need to dig the carrots out, preferably with a fork. They can take a light frost before digging out. The onions should have had the leaves bent over quite some time ago so they grow larger, but you can still do it now and dig them out before they freeze.

Answer 5

Just loosen the dirt and pull one out.
When you planted the carrots, if it said it takes 55 days (or whatever) til it ripens, wait until that time . Hopefully you marked down when you planted them. If not, look for bigger ones.