carrot help, please

[ktarsha]

I grew carrots this year for the first time ever. They did really well, and most of them looked great when I harvested them the other day. As I was peeling and cutting them up to freeze, I tasted several, and they were all so bitter I had to spit them out. I am (ahem) bitterly disappointed. I really want to grow carrots - I like having them for snacks and I put them in stew - but if they're going to be yucky like this every time, there's no point in wasting time and precious garden space on them.

So can any experienced growers give me some pointers on how to grow good-tasting carrots?

[sam1980]

Are they bitter, or just not sweet enough? If they aren't sweet enough, you need to try leaving them in the ground longer. Don't harvest until after a frost, or even a few frosts. This makes them sweeter.

If it is actually true bitterness, it could be the soil you have. You can find out what soil you have and replace elements with compost and other things in the future.

[JamieCatheryn]

My too small carrots were bitter, and any just picked had somewhat overwhelming amounts of flavor, better to eat a day later I found. Cooking sweetens them up, too.

[ktarsha]

Originally Posted by sam1980

Are they bitter, or just not sweet enough? If they aren't sweet enough, you need to try leaving them in the ground longer. Don't harvest until after a frost, or even a few frosts. This makes them sweeter.

If it is actually true bitterness, it could be the soil you have. You can find out what soil you have and replace elements with compost and other things in the future.

I definitely need to improve the soil, so that could be part of it. To me they tasted really bitter, but maybe next time I'll try leaving them in until after frost. We had a couple of light frosts, but maybe I should have waited until a hard frost.