Gardening always brings new surprises and things to learn. A few weeks ago, I saw something that looked like bugs on the top of my plant. It reminded me of the cabbage aphids that like to attack my kale. I broke off the top of the plant and tossed it over the fence.
Tonight I saw more of the bug looking things on the plant. Then I realized that it was actually flowers beginning to open. Oops!
The crazy thing is guess what this plant is? Carrots! Yup, who knew that carrots bloom and have flowers?!?! They look a lot like Queen Anne’s Lace, but these were purplish/grey, instead of white.
I looked up the details and learned that carrots typically bloom for one of two reasons. First – if the Spring weather warms early, then the plant puts its growth into flowering instead of growing (the carrots). It has been a very warm spring – so this is quite possible.
Second reason is if you overwinter the carrot, it confuses the poor plant on what season it is and what it is supposed to be doing. This is what happened for me. I planted these carrots last Spring, and never got around to harvesting them. I was a super busy working mom, and the carrots were too close together and difficult to harvest. So the carrots survived the winter, and now the plant is crazy tall and blooming. I’m curious what the carrots look like in the ground. I’ll try and harvest them soon and give my rabbits a treat.
If you find your carrots starting to bloom, know that it’s not common, but perfectly normal. Being a busy mom and not always harvesting things has taught me a bunch of fun, and interesting things! I’m really curious what is growing in my garden where I have potatoes that were planted in 2020 and never harvested. Maybe there’s a ton of potatoes down there just waiting for me to dig them up 😊
Amazing! The Garden of our Heart is always active and beautiful!