2017 ASHS Annual Conference

Small farmers on the Delmarva Peninsula have ongoing needs for information on the selection of appropriate cultivars of vegetables such as carrots, Daucus carota, for organic production. However, issues such as poor carrot seed germination and stand establishment, plus the selection of acceptable nutrient sources to meet state nutrient guidelines for soil health on some of these high phosphorus soils can be challenging. As such, field evaluations of organic carrots were conducted two years in late spring to summer using two nutrient sources, Blessings Blends premium compost and Naturesafe. These nutrients were applied to meet recommended carrot guidelines for 90 lb. /acre N and 160 lb. /acre K. In the first year, due to low germination and non-uniform plant stands of Napoli and Yaya cultivars, the yield data was not used. Year 2 study with the addition of two more cultivars, Nectar, and Red Cored Chantenay, had excellent stand establishment. In this split plot design with three replications, the two nutrient sources did not have any effect on the yield characteristics. Cultivars differed significantly in marketable harvest count, unmarketable harvest weight, top height, root length and root tip fill. While these results indicate the potential of some better performing carrot cultivars for the area, a repeat of this trial will be conducted to confirm such.