Chantenay Red Cored 2

Why it suits Ireland

A large part of the country grows on heavy clay or on a thin layer of decent soil over stone, and that is the single most common reason Irish carrots come out short, split into three legs, or come out as a stump with a beard of side roots. Chantenay was selected as a short, stump-rooted type, so the depth problem largely disappears.

It is also a good choice for a raised bed that is only 20 to 25cm deep, and for a large container, which is how a lot of people now grow carrots here to dodge both bad soil and root fly at once.

The flavour is a real bonus rather than a compromise. These are sweet, dense carrots, and the small ones pulled in August are very good raw.

Growing notes

Sow direct from April to early June in drills 1cm deep and 25cm apart. Break the top 20cm of soil to a fine crumb and pick out stones, but there is no need to double dig the way you would for Autumn King.

Do not manure the bed in the same year. Fresh manure is the other main cause of forked and hairy roots, and on clay it is a common mistake to add manure specifically to loosen the soil before sowing carrots. Add compost the previous autumn instead.

Sow thinly and thin to about 5cm if needed, on a still damp evening, taking the thinnings off the plot.

Keep mesh or fleece over the bed from sowing until lifting. Chantenay is in the ground from April to September or October, which covers both generations of carrot root fly.

Start lifting from August at whatever size suits you. Lift the rest before the ground turns wet in late autumn and store the sound roots in boxes of barely damp sand.