The Calidad Nursery & Urban Gardens crew is installing an edible garden near you. Peace & Love to all my fellow green revolutionaries. In March, I sh

       
wesogreen

The Calidad Nursery & Urban Gardens crew is installing an edible garden near you.

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This amazing shot of a bettle on a Kale leaf was shot by Chris Arson, a uber talented, bay- local artist you should all get to know.

Peace & Love to all my fellow green revolutionaries. In March, I shared the "Kale- How To" and I'm excited to report that the seeds we germinated are thriving in the garden. The entire crew at Calidad has been busy building planting beds, turning compost, and starting seeds.

It is that time again to reach for your People's Free Food Program seed packet. The Following "Carrot How-To" should offer a jump start to direct sowing this crop.

As we find ourselves deep into the summer planting season, it is once again time to reconnect with our food. By growing a garden at home, volunteering at a local community garden or sharing seeds with family & friends, we find ourselves closer to the goal of food sovereignty. Fresh, free food can be a reality for urban dwellers world wide. Let's grow together. ALL Power To The People.

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Kale seedling all grown up.

Be sure to visit our Facebook page for more Urban gardening tips. We'd love if you could follow us on Twitter & Instagram.

And remember, we are here to answer ALL your garden questions at calidadnursery@gmail.com.

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Carrot "How-To"

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Long Market Variety Carrots in traditional orange & planetary purple ready for harvest.

Carrots are garden favorites. They come in many different varieties and are super versatile when it comes to preparation & storage. Sweet and earthy, these root vegetables can be grown year round. All you need are a few tips to get started.

No true garden guru would attempt to give carrot growing advice without first consulting some literature. I pulled out the June 1969 printing of Sunset Western Garden Book for this "How-To's" reference.

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My People's Free Food Program Tee and Vintage Sunset Western Garden Book

Let's start with the Basics:

Your People's Free Food Program seed packet includes the Long Market variety of carrot which requires an ideal, light soil which will allow the plant roots to reach depths of a foot.

This will require most gardeners to make some simple soil amendments as carrots reach smooth perfection only in soil textured just right and free of clods or stones.

Carrot seeds are tiny and need sun to germinate. Once you have your soil clod & stone free, add a bag of sand and mix it in well. Then simply sprinkle the seeds onto the soil and lightly cover them with your sand/soil mixture. The cover layer should be just enough to keep the seeds from being blown away by wind but thin enough for sunlight to kiss them.

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Calidad's Finesse Man, Deante adding sand to our carrot beds

Keep the soil very moist for the first few weeks until you see the tiny sprouts appear. Water with a fine mist, being careful not to wash them away. Take the time to really soak the soil. Set your hose attachment on mist setting, prop the hose on a shovel handle or watering can & let the water run.

It's a good idea to save half your seeds and plant them two or three weeks after your initial planting. In "Gardenese", we call that successive planting which guarantees a progression of growth & harvest.

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A handful of carrot seeds. You REALLY do reap what you sow. Reconnect with your food. Start small but START TODAY!

When the tops are 2 inches high, thin the plants to 1 1/2 inches apart and keep an eye on them as they start to expand over the coming weeks. If necessary thin them again so the roots don't crowd. The tiny carrots removed in thinning are good butter-steamed. WASTE NOT!

Harvest your carrots once they've reached finger size. You won't have to worry much about disease or pest with this hardy root crop.

Carrots can be grown as a companion with many other food crops. Just be sure to choose other varieties that will do well in loose soil. At Calidad, we plant our carrots along with beets, radishes, parsley and cilantro.

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Final offerings

We'll conclude with a few links to online Carrot "How-To's" and other interesting carrot facts/finds:
* The A to Z of Common Carrot Varieties
* Mother Earth's New - Guide to Different Types of Carrots
* Planting, growing & harvesting carrots - The Farmer's Almanac Approach

Be sure to visit our partner organization All Lies website and order a People's Free Food Program Tee, or two or three. Each Tee Shirt purchase includes a custom Calidad Nursery & Urban Gardens seed packet.

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