They like sandy soil with no stones in it. I gave up after trying to grow them in clay soil. Apparently they do well in pots or raised beds.

I don't think it can be put down to one thing in this case as weather,soil condition and variety can play its part.

I can only base my reply on what I can see in the picture!

You don't mention the variety but I think it is a 'stump' rooted variety,and I think it has been subjected to a stop- go growing season due to the poor weather we have had this year.

Looking at the surface of the soil it also suggests the soil contains a bit of humus which may hinder the tap root growth.

So if I am anywhere near correct, the carrots may have grown a bit,stopped a bit, then started growing again, and the tap root may have been hindered at this transition point. During the delayed period new tap roots have formed and each have taken off to basically form carrots in their own right.

Can you confirm to me what variety you used, and what was the soil like below the top couple of inches, i.e. the point where the ' forking' commences.

Carrots should not be sown in ground that was manured the previous year. They will always fork. The slugs had mine.

Thanks so much for the replies - they explain a lot :)
They were grown in a raised bed with new topsoil and added manure and good drainage as our base ground is sandy
Sorry, I don't know the variety - they were some plants I picked up at the garden centre
The weather here in Blackpool has been varied this summer to say the least!

Every single one of my carrots has done this! However, they'll still be eaten. I had various reasons given to me by friends, one of them that the watering had been intermittent - which is probably correct. They were planted in tall pots (similar to the kind that hold flowers in supermarkets) with cheap multi-purpose compost.

We have grown some crackers this year, in pots/bags etc. on the balcony, they are delicious. No special prep. either just potting compost and water. Bet yours taste good after a clean up and scrape.

Hi

I have an allotment and find it a bit hit and miss whether carrots work or not. One year they are brilliant then last year I had none. This year they are brilliant again. I use Mushroom compost in my raised bed and obviously we had lots of rain this year, so perhaps that made a different. Good luck next time

My parsnips come out looking like this but taste wonderful and so much more interesting than the boring uniform ones, unless you are showing of course !

The way I look at deformed veg is; once they get past your lips they are the same as perfectly formed veg.

Lol. Teegee, but true.