This is one of my Scarlet Nantes carrots. Looks mighty fine, doesn't it?
Here's the other side. Now, there's not a tooth or bite mark on it. The core is intact, with exactly half a full length outer part to the root. The rest is hollow.
When I pulled this one, I could feel that there was only half a carrot there. The hollow inside half was filled with dirt, which I washed off for the photo.
I honestly don't think it was eaten. Besides no tooth marks, why would something eat only half like that, eating around but leaving the core? But could it really have grown that way? A mystery to ponder.
I have had some like those. I think they just split if you leave them in the ground too long.
ReplyDeleteYep, me too; I second Hazel (same variety, too).
ReplyDeleteI've grown that variety before and yes, sometimes they split like that. It's funny looking though and my kids used to alternately think they were cool or shun them :)
ReplyDeleteThe question is, how did it taste?
ReplyDeleteI was going to suggest the same thing - a really dramatic split. I think it can happen if they get a lot of rain in a short amount of time.
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty neat looking regardless.
ReplyDeleteYa'll, I have to admit that I've never had carrots grow large enough to worry about splitting. That makes perfect sense but a mystery still remains. What happened to the other half of the carrot?!?!?!
ReplyDeleteJane, I confess I don't know. It was too weird and too hard to scrub clean so I chopped it up and fed it to the goats!
Limette, I thought so too. :)
a very smart bunny saving the rest for later. ;o)
ReplyDeleteHa! The oddities of nature - I love it!
ReplyDeleteI had the same issue with some of my overwintered carrots.
ReplyDeleteI would think splitting is probably the answer. Mother nature can sometimes be tricky. Blessings jane
ReplyDeleteWe've also had some like that and its from leaving them in the ground to long!
ReplyDeleteLOL! That's funny!
ReplyDeleteTime to call the cooperative extension?
ReplyDeleteRenee, LOL
ReplyDeleteDanni & Renee, never a dull moment if we only take the time to look!
Heather, I'm glad I posted the pictures because apparently, this isn't all that strange. I reckon that means I'm in good company!
Jane & Julie, that seems to be the consensus. Not sure if I could do anything about it in the future, because a lot of my carrots are still pretty small and skinny. Something to ponder.
Sharon, now why didn't I think of that! :)
I think this is called "split root" in carrots and is due to too much water after an extended dry period. We always have a few carrots just like this but never enough for me to worry about.
ReplyDeletehttp://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?pid=628
I've come across a couple/few like that in all my years of gardening. I can't over-winter carrots so I don't think it's caused exclusively by that. Don't think there is "another half" that disappeared. The weird carrot just grows like that . . . not formed correctly. I've never tasted one like that either.
ReplyDeleteMike, that pretty much describes our situation here, a long dry spell with too much rain following. I reckon I should feel fortunate that it's the only one like that I've found so far!
ReplyDeleteMama Pea, this was a first for me and you can see that it really puzzled me. Of course, I've never been able to grow good carrots before, so it's all new. They really don't look too tasty, do they?
Carrots are susceptible to splitting as they grow if they are subjected to uneven amounts of watering. Try not to let them dry out excessively while they're growing.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget about carrot maggots. They did some ugly things to my carrots last year.
ReplyDeleteWeird! I've never seen anything like that.
ReplyDeleteWow, I've never seen a carrot like that before.
ReplyDelete