Fresh Carrots

Great success with carrots this year. I planted Chatenay Red Core and Parisienne. My backyard soil is heavy clay, so I mixed compost and cow manure about 8 inches down. The carrots began to sprout within 10 days, but I also noticed that some sprouted much later. Both type seem to grow very slow and I pulled the first few plants when they were very small. Today I pulled about 10 of each variety. The Red Core have reached about 6 inches long while the Parisienne are short and fat. Both are very crisp with a great fresh carrot scent and sweet taste.

De Bourbonne Cucumber

Today I harvested about 5 lbs. of this old French Heirloom pickling cucumber. This variety is new to me this year. Just finished pickling one quart jar that will sit in the refrigerator for 3 weeks before I try them out. I used the Ball Kosher Dill Pickle Mix. It came in a small packet, good for one small batch. Since I am keeping these in the refrigerator for short term storage, no need to boil the jars in a water bath.

I picked various sizes of cucumbers today. The largest were cut into spears, and I kept those under 3 inches long whole. When eaten fresh, this variety is very mild in taste. The dark green, heavily ribbed skin is fairly thick on the larger fruit. The vines are staying very compact and are not taking up much room. Next time I plant this variety I would install a trellis to train them to grow vertically. And if the pickles turn out, I would plant more vines as well.

Update on 1-10-2012

Just opened up the last jar of pickles made from these cucumbers. They have stayed crisp and taste amazing. Will be planting many more of these this summer.