Carrots are our signature crop and we devote a significant amount of acreage and energy to their production. Ivy and Mike planted six rotations this year, and the first two are coming off the Delta Farm now.
Carrots are planted in four-row beds, which match up with our four row cultivation tractors. They take about 80 days to fully mature and they get a lot of time and attention. Right before they emerge from the soil, they are flame-weeded. They also get intensively irrigated, hand-weeded, and tractor- cultivated several times too.
As the roots reach full size, we’re careful not to overwater them or they start splitting. Although we do water them for a short set the day before harvest to loosen the soil, too much water can create a lot of unsellable carrots.
Carrots harvest is in full swing now that rotations one and two are ready, and we’ve made some improvements to our harvesting systems this year. Adjustments to the digger bar have allowed us to loosen up the roots a bit more before we hand-pull the bunches. We’ve also started experimenting with bunching the carrots in the packing shed, instead of in the field. This allows us to rinse the carrots before they’re bunched and identify and pull imperfections before they are accidentally bunched.
Big thanks to our hard-working packing crew (like Sidney and Sonja above) who see the carrots through from start to finish. If everything goes according to plan we hope to be rolling out bulk carrots soon!