I picked my first cucumbers yesterday also. The digger critters have just about wiped out the squash, my lettuce and spinach bolted long ago. How long does it take carrots to mature? I planted my back in early January, and it looks like at the rate they are growing it will be September before harvest for me.

I think carrots are supposed to be around 60 days or so but don't believe it! It takes a long time. Well, now that I think about it, the ones I planted in the raised beds at my house probably were 60 days roughly. But I have some planted in Feb. that are still not ready!

I want to plant more beets and I used to plant by the biodynamic calendar but didn't bother this year. There are web sites that tell you what days are when and tomorrow is a root day so I'm going to plant more root veggies tomorrow and see if that helps.

I planted my carrots in early Jan. and they are still very tiny!!!

Do you remember the variety?

I don't know why sometimes they are painfully slow. Maybe you should plant a few more, TOMORROW, and see if there is a difference? Couldn't hurt.

Are the tops tiny as well as the roots?

Red Chantenay, is what I have. I planted another variety and got almost zero germination, don't remember off hand what that one was. The tops look great, normal looking. Isn't it way to hot to plant carrots now?

You know, I always thought you could plant them all summer long. So I do. But everyone tells me it's too late. I dunno. Same with beets. I do know carrot seeds need leaching and that's why they take so long to germinate. I tried once leaching before planting but do you know how hard it is to handle wet carrot seeds?

I just checked my blog and it was Mar. 4 when I planted the carrots in the raised bed, that are starting to be large enough to harvest. I think I planted the ones at the farm in Feb., in the row that was kept under row cover all winter. I thought they would germinate but they didn't until it warmed up. So they probably germinated about the same time the ones here did. Some of those are ready, lots are not.

Do you think possibly they received too much nitrogen and got nice tops but no roots? I hate when that happens to my beets as well. And have you had that happen with radishes?

I checked back and had to replant in Feb. Yes, without a doubt, too much nitrogen, for the past few years I have been thinking my garden needed more nitrogen, of course the soil has been improving all that time also. So this year I planted root crops and did the brilliant thing of side dressing them with a little 13-13-13, I have never seen radish tops so large...or radishes so small.

Makes you wish there was something you could do with those pretty radish tops besides giving them to the goats or chickens. Well, you can try again for a fall crop. We like to plant in fall and keep them into December usually. You are further south so you should be able to do that too.