The kids and I were able to harvest our raised bed full of carrots not too long ago. We actually came home from a fun outing in Amish country and then got to work with our carrots.

I have grown many varieties of carrots. And, I have tried various preserving methods. This year we grew Danvers Half Long organic seeds from Livingston. I had others and, as mentioned in previous posts, after two rounds of pelleted seeds, went with these.

We didn’t have much trouble pulling the carrots. I had added sand to the soil in the raised bed as well as some compost. Each year the soil settles and more is needed. One great ‘pro’ of growing carrots in a raised bed is that they have less compacted soil to grow long in. However, I did choose the variety we grew because they weren’t supposed to get super long.

After trimming the greens off, we took the carrots back up to the garage and I washed them in our utility sink. Since I had two buckets full, I did the washing in halves. They washed up so lovely!

I decided to try the refrigerator method of preserving this go-round. I just used grocery store bags with no holes, added a nice amount of carrots (not full) to each bag, and then taped the opening shut once I tied it. Now, they will sit in the fridge until we need more! I sorted the tiniest carrots out to use first.

Final yield: 23.4 pounds

Any tips you have for me on carrots are helpful! I have such a time trying to get them to germinate. Hoping to grow more this fall, but with a dry forecast ahead, I’m not so sure they’ll get their start. How do you preserve carrots?