All of you reading my blogs are certainly aware that I spent most of my working years as a high school biology teacher. Being aware of that fact I’m assuming that you are assuming this blog will not be discussing the finer things in the world such as 24- karat jewelry.

Teachers’ salaries especially in the early years did not leave much room for blowing the monthly check on an expensive piece of 24- karat jewelry!

Fortunately, my wife Kathie was not into expensive jewelry. So, when I finally proposed after a two- and- a- half -year courtship she had no interest in the karat value of the ring. I think the main thing running through her mind was, “finally”! 🙂

It didn’t even bother her that a magnifying glass was required to get a good look at the diamond.

So now that we have that settled let’s get to the main subject of this blog, carrots!

I’ve been growing a garden now for pretty much my whole adult life. That would total over sixty years of attempting to grow carrots. Carrots are not easy to grow.

The tiny carrot seeds need to be planted in shallow soil that needs to stay moist to allow the seeds to germinate.

If the spring is lacking rain, there will not be enough moisture for the seeds to germinate. Even if the rains do come Minnesota has those nasty winds that can quickly dry out the soil and those carrot seeds  just below the soil’s surface.

So, for many of those sixty plus years a carrot crop was more valuable than a 24- karat ring. Especially when the carrot crop was sweet,  tasty and so infrequent.

There is a down- side to the good growing years, however. I seemed to always plant way too many rows of carrots and when a successful crop was produced our root cellar was overflowing with carrots.

There was no way our family could eat all of those carrots that were produced. We couldn’t even find enough neighbors to pawn them off on.

So, when spring arrived, I had the unsavory job of scooping up piles of rotting carrots and hauling them into the windbreak hoping some of natures’ critters might find them palatable.

That also required that I remembered where I placed the slimy, smelly decomposing carrots so that I didn’t stumble upon them accidently and permanently smell-stain my boots! 🙁

This spring we had bountiful rains. In fact, we had too much rain and the farmers had to struggle to get the crops in. There were many fields that never did get planted.

I was smiling as I gently sprinkled carrot seeds into a trough of very moist soil trying my best not to get the seeds too close together.

“Even an incompetent gardener can get carrots to grow in these moist conditions,” I mumbled.

And you know I was right! The long- wet spring provided perfect germinating conditions. Very shortly I was able to see the fragile green carrot sprouts peeking through the still damp soil.

It was becoming a 24-karat carrot growing season! 🙂

It gave me great pride this summer as I would walk by the row of leafy carrot plants and watch them marching toward maturity. My mouth would water as I envisioned the sweet, crunchy carrot bits sprinkled onto my salad along with garden grown tomatoes, cucumbers, sunflower seeds and lettuce.

But then a setback occurred as the Minnesota rains became very infrequent and presently, we are officially considered in a minor drought.

Climate Change has not yet been blamed, however, that will  probably be the next bit of weather news.

So suddenly my 24- karat crop of carrots is in jeopardy.

I sprang into action grabbing a five gallon pail and a sprinkling can and headed for the water hydrant in the middle of our yard.

The stream of water from the hydrant is slow so I had to wait patiently as the five- gallon pail filled with water and then the sprinkling can.

Fortunately, the row of 24-karat carrots is not very long as I didn’t want to have another spring of removing rotting left over carrots.

The carrot row was thoroughly soaked and hopefully the added water will stave off the effects of the impending drought.

Another month of the growing season and the carrots should provide us with ample additions to our salads.

But never count your carrots until they are out of the ground and tucked safely in the root cellar.

Disasters are still a possibility! Hail- storms aren’t out of the question yet. Nor are the dangers of a pocket gopher discovering the underground roots and gobbling his way right down the carrot row! 🙁

But I’m thinking positive. I may have to drag over a few more five-gallon pails of well water to keep those 24-karat vegetables growing.

Enjoying healthy salads containing those sweet, tasty carrots through the fall and early winter will make it all worth it.

I hope this blog finds you with an abundance of both karats and carrots! 🙂

Until next time,