The final harvest of 2026 and farming is done for the year. I just need to get my little shovel out and do some tillage.
Overall, it was a good year. My first ever excellent carrot crop was had, my chilies and bell peppers were excellent as always, the tomatoes were decent, the string beans would have been better and the beets a total failure due to the evil deer.
Such is the life of an old farmer.
I have no bloody clue what I did wrong. Usually I’m in the same boat as everyone else.
The secret is loose soil with some organic matter/structure. Till the soil for about 30-40cm. Make sure drainage is adequate so it doesn’t get waterlogged, but give enough water that you can still make lumps of soil with your hand.
You get gnarly carrots if you have stony or compacted soil.
Light sandy soil is best. But that’s not the soil type here. It’s heavy clay. So these were grown in a raised box bed.