Perhaps you are accustomed to buying perfect, uniformly-shaped carrots in a modern supermarket. However, home gardeners often pull up carrots that are not just imperfect, but absolutely deformed. They may appear twisted, warped, almost mutated, with knots, multiple roots, branched roots – and what may look like tentacles or arms. Some appear alien enough to scream when they are pulled from the ground!
My personal favorite, looks like it just marched out of the ground:
Why do carrots grow this way? The most common reason is that the carrots are growing in overly compacted, clay-rich soil. Such dense, heavy soil tends to divert the roots from growing straight down. Tiny pebbles or soil clumps may also present physical obstructions for the roots to grow around. The simple solution is to highly amend your soil with compost and till the soil before planting. Sifting the soil can help eliminate clods. Also, avoid walking on the garden beds, as this will compress the soil. Carrots need light, aerated soil to grow well. It may be advisable to grow the carrots in raised garden beds, if the soil is particularly bad (as ours is!).
For proper growth, mild temperatures are preferable (between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit). In addition, soil pH should ideally be between 6 and 7 (slightly acidic to neutral) to maximize growth.
An excess of nitrogen in the soil has also been correlated with excessive branching of carrot roots. Too much nitrogen may lead to lush green growth above and stubby carrots below. You may need to adjust the fertilizer used on your garden plants. Another common problem: cracked carrots may result from insufficient – or irregular watering. This may happen if the soil dries out, and a heavy rain occurs. Waterlogged soil is not good for the carrots either.
Overly dense planting of seeds or seedling transfers can also result in warped carrots, if they are competing for space, water or nutrients. Plantings need to be thinned if too many are growing closely together. Plus, old growths should be removed each year.
An additional cause of branching carrots is the presence of root-knot nematodes, microscopic parasitic worms which can stunt plant growth or cause knots or bumps or hairy galls on the carrot roots. Rather than treating these with toxic chemicals, a gardener can take care of such pests by adding beneficial nematodes. One further possibility is phytoplasma aster, a bacterial disease that is often spread by leafhopper insects. This often leads to yellowing of the carrots. There is no real cure for this type of infestation, so it is advisable to control leafhopper insects instead.
Not to worry. These misshapen carrots are still edible. Where do you think that baby carrots come from? Chop them up and use them in salads, casseroles and stews.
All of these carrots grew in our garden in Southern California. Yet… these deformities don’t just happen in carrots. Witness a potato grown in our garden as well:
In the end… nature isn’t perfect, but we can still enjoy the bounty of our gardens.
Unless… the aliens actually have arrived and are sprouting in our gardens…
Chemistry on Your Table 