SPRING CARROTS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 254, 27 October 1942, Page 4

SPRING CARROTS

SOME CROPS PLOUGHED IN UNECONOMICAL PRICES One vegetable which has probably been detrimentally affected more than any other by the scheme of fixed maximum prices and sellintr by weight is the carrot. Market gardeners appear to be unanimous throughout tne Auckland district that under present conditions they would be losing money to place carrots on the market. As a result acres of spring carrots are being left in the ground to mature later with the main crop or are being ploughed in and the areas used for growing something more profitable. Growers formerly receiving 10d a lb for their carrots have been denied m °r*e than the maximum rate of 3d a lb. Since the early maturing varieties require a great deal of attention, such a price, it is stated, makes cu i» lvatlon sl mply not worth while. Moreover, the new system of selling by weight means that there are very many more carrots to the ton; consequently more digging and handling are necessary. By leaving their carrots in the ground growers rind they gam about four times the weight which digging at present would disclose. , 4 commercial grower stated today that he knew of two neighbours who had been digging in their early carrots and planting in their stead peas and beans, for which there is still a free market. "And they can hardly be blamed," he added.