[alsun]

I have some very strange carrots, several rows of dumpy growth with spider like roots, nothing like the picture on the packet.
Am wondering if they could not penetrate the very hard dry ground even though I was watering them.
Ant ideas ?

[Dan]

Carrots like light, sandy soil best, so if you do have heavy soil or there was compaction that's the most likely explanation. If there are lots and lots of roots that can indicate excess nitrogen.

Our soil is really sandy and we have a great crop this year even though it's been dry.

HTH. 

[Fleecewife]

As Dan says (of course  ) plus:   for future years, don't use fresh manure.  You can prepare 'trenches' to grow your carrots  in by digging out a 'V'shaped trough the depth your carrots  claim to grow.  Fill the trench with multipurpose compost and sow your carrots  into that.  If you also loosen up the soil below the level of the bottom of the trench then any longer roots won't be stunted.
If any of your crop has carrot  rootfly maggots in, then you need to protect your crop next year, either with enviromesh for the full life of the crop, or by growing in a container up on a bench or inside a polytunnel.
 
Another possible reason for all the little roots could be that, in spite of regular watering, you have only been wetting the surface, so the carrot  has to grow lots of small roots to collect any moisture going.   It can take a surprising amount of water to wet dry soil deeply.  To check, you can either use a moisture meter, or dig a few test holes near the row to see how far down the moisture goes. 

[Bert]

I pulled a couple of test carrots out yesterday. It turns out they aren't ready yet, another couple of weeks. It also turns out I need to improve my watering for my carrots as they had lots of fine roots coming off them. Thanks to reading this post, I now know what that means  .

[Padge]

I hadn't realised that the frondy bits were due to lack of water  just assumed i'd left them in too long 
do have a good crop this year tho and am about to sow a last lot in the poly