Here’s another experiment:  after having weed problems with earlier carrot seedings, I decided to try using radishes as a nurse crop for the fall/winter planting of carrots.  The idea is to help the carrots come up by using radishes, which germinate and grow faster, to suppress the weeds and prevent the soil from crusting (carrots have a hard time pushing through crusty soil). This idea came to me earlier in the year when I discovered long-abandoned carrots growing surprisingly well amongst the weeds that had taken over.  I’m sure it’s not a novel idea, but it was a revelation to me!  

This photo shows the what it looked like a couple of weeks after planting.  If you look closely, you’ll see that it’s mostly radish greens.

Carrots and radishes inter-seeded

This photo shows the results about four weeks after seeding.  Can you find the carrot leaves?  There’s quite a few of them! They look healthy and there aren’t many weeds at all.  I’d say it was a success.

Radishes as a nurse crop for carrots

I’ve been harvesting the radishes regularly, for some good eating (yum!), but mostly to free up space for the carrots.  Now if I can just get a few more beds planted before it’s too late in the year…