Carrot harvest begins for Tasmanian growers

Tasmanian carrot growers have started pulling their vegetables out of the ground.

Premium Fresh managing director Jim Ertler said his company harvested its first batch of carrots earlier than other producers.

“Some of the spring weather has delayed the crops that came in after,” Mr Ertler said.

“So we’ve been able to continue our supply, but the size of the carrots has dropped off following the first paddock.

“The high quantity of winds that we’ve been getting shut the plants down into survival mode, and they didn’t grow a lot through November and December.”

Mr Ertler said he expected carrot harvest numbers to be similar to last year.

Carrots are Premium Fresh’s largest crop volume-wise.

“We’ve been quite happy with the quality we’ve been getting,” Mr Ertler said.

“Sometimes the slower growth periods actually improve quality.”

Smaller grower Tyler Faulstich of Constance Farm said they were on to their second succession of carrots.

“Our first succession of carrots was a little bit earlier than previous years because it was such a cool spring,” Mr Faulstich said.

“Our first sowing went in during early September and we harvested that all through December.”

Mr Faulstich said at Constance Farm, their carrots were bunched with tops.

“With the first succession, we harvested it and bunched carrots over December.

“You start with relatively small carrots, and by the end, they are pretty large.

“We find the general public likes large carrots and the chefs prefer the smaller carrots.”

Constance Farm has 60 different crops growing.

“We really focus on diversity,” Mr Faulstich said.

“We do the veggie box for people in Dodges Ferry that has eight or nine crops a week.

“People love carrots, and we always try to have them available because they’re such a staple item.

“We never want to have a week where we don’t have carrots.”