November 17, 2014
I had a great idea this summer to have a section of my garden in root vegetables (carrots, beets, onions) surrounded by peas. I made carrot mats and everything. I planted everything at the end of July.
The peas all sprouted and have done well. We have been harvesting for just over a month. I ripped them up this week because the temps are dropping from low 70s to mid-40s next week . I figured there would not be much growing going on. The aphids were doing a number on them anyway. The chickens seemed to take care of that 🙂
Most of the peas have been ripped up (root veggies towards the top of the photo).
We harvested and ate the rest of the peas as I was cleaning up the bed.
Of the carrots I planted in July, ONE carrot sprouted and all of the beet seeds were dug up by our cat. I planted more carrots and beets a couple of weeks later (more shallow this time) and about half sprouted. Mid-September, I planted more carrots and onions. Only the onions sprouted. I never did figure out what happened (other than the fact that our cat makes it her mission to dig up freshly planted seeds) and I was done planting for the year but I did buy some Diatomaceous Earth for the next time I planted, to deter any slugs or ants (we have TONS of those!).
All of that to say, we harvested that ONE carrot this week 🙂
It was super-duper sweet. The sweetest I’ve tasted from the garden. And we’ve eaten carrots after a frost before. Not sure why but I’m thankful!
I weeded and mulched the bed this week. I won’t cover it with manure until I have pulled the root veggies.
(picture taken before I pulled all of the peas, of course) 
(a few carrots) 
(Look closely! those are not wild onions — I planted them 😉 ) 
(the beets that survived Emily (our cat) )
We were also able to harvest a bit of lettuce this week.
Very tasty as well. Love fall garden food!
I am linking up with Daphne’s Dandelions for Harvest Monday to see what others are harvesting.
Gardening Without... 
It sounds like you need soil protection like I do. I don’t own any cats, but my neighbors all have them. If I don’t cover the soil with something the whole place would be dug up and their litter box. So soil is never left uncovered, especially the recently dug soil. I use a mixture of row covers, bird netting, chicken wire, and bamboo poles. The neighborhood skunks can be even worse as they look for worms in the soil. Not to mention the squirrels. I never had this problem at my last house.
We started laying sticks over newly planted areas. It took us awhile to figure it out 😉
Congrats on that carrot – one is better than none! And you know why it tasted so good? It’s a rule of the veg patch – the scarcer it is, the better it tastes!
gotcha 😉
I’m still learning to grow carrots myself, but Daphne’s trick of covering the carrot bed with row cover material after sowing has worked wonders for me. We have feral cats here but they don’t seem to bother the veggies. The squirrels are a big nuisance though, as are the deer. Now I need to cover my carrots with netting after they are up to keep the deer away. It’s always something with gardening, isn’t it?