What is the matter with carrots etc.

I think it is a national problem. The carrots in all the supermarkets I go into are quite thin & they do not keep well at all.
Our home grown tomatoes were/are gorgeous this year but when I had a lull I bought some that looked great but had no flavour at all.
We have had a lot of sun in the south this year but maybe veg. coming from ares that haven't.

If you keep them moist they last longer wrap in some damp paper towels. I found the best wat wasto put them in a tub of water the kept for ages

I store my carrots in my salad box. I have a grocer comes round none of my veg or fruit are in plastic all laid out in a cardboard box my mushrooms are in a brown paper bag.
Never had anything go off since I have bought my fruit and veg from him. Think it’s the plastic bags that are the problem you don’t know how long they have been in cold storage in the bags.

i get a big bag peel cut plunge into boiling water for few mins

plunge into iced water dry off open freeze then bag and put

back in freezer for when i need.

We grow our own veg in the summer and, as a consequence of lockdown, abandoned the supermarket in favour of a local organic grower who delivered to our door. His vegetables especially carrots are amazing and, like my own, don’t always look great but taste fantastic. I don’t know what industrial farmers and supermarkets are doing to their products in terms of pesticides, fertilisers, cleaning and storing, but I won’t be buying again so long as my alternative sources continue.

Ours usually keep for ages in the salad drawer, and out of any plastic wrapping. IMO that makes them sweaty and more likely to go off.

Carrots in plastic bags are just awful. Far too bug quantities and always wet. I know they are washed and given a chlorine wash (like the Trump chicken) but why are they packed so wet and with very little taste. Haven't come across the browning problem though. I do check and use them up quite quickly though.

I'm afraid I am lazy - I buy them frozen. All prepared and no waste!!

Love the title of this thread! I agree about the carrots. I have them delivered from Morrison and, of course, they come in a plastic bag. I take them out of that straight away and put them in a brown paper bag in the salad drawer of the fridge. I don't know why I bother as they go all black and soft at the tips and I have to throw them out after a couple of days. I wish I could buy smaller quantities as those big bags are just too much for two of us. We grew some of our own this year but tbh they are completely flavourless, just like our home grown tomatoes. I've really gone off vegetables and yet we are being exhorted to eat more of them.

I've rediscovered our local greengrocers, now run by Asians. It is excellent! Carrots, nectarines and all other produce is larger, fresher and longer-lived than supermarket stuff. Guess where we'll be shopping in future.

Can't say I've noticed. Just buy enough for my immediate needs so maybe it's the storage problem.

I use those green bags from Ecoegg. Expensive, but keeps veg fresh for weeks, more than a month in some cases. And they can be reused. Tried some cheaper ones from Amazon but they don't work the same at all, think they're just coloured green.

Yes, I agree on carrotgate...what on earth is happening? lol.

I recently bought some carrots as I thought there were none left. I always take them out of the plastic bag, put them in a large container with kitchen paper to soak any possible moisture up and put them in the salad drawer. I noted there were still a couple of carrots in another container which were perfectly fine. Low and behold when I went to get carrots out the new ones were in a shocking state. The worst ones were put in compost straight a way and the remainder deteriorated very quickly. However the old carrots were perfectly ok.

I would like to contribute something constructive to this thread, but, owning a carrot-loving Guinea Pig prevents me. He hoovers up carrots like they're going out of fashion, just leaving me one for myself before I shop again. But he has been great company during lockdown. He's nearly 7 (geriatric in guines pig terms) but refuses to join GN because you may expect him to share his carrots.

I have noticed this too, but also with Oranges, which don’t keep for more than a few days before going mouldy. The ones that Sainsbury’s were selling as Large Oranges where small in comparison to how they used to be, full of pips, and had quite a dry texture. Even Bananas are much smaller, and have a grey colour to their skins as they ripen.
The only good fruit available here at the moment are the apples and pears picked fresh from our trees!

I find organic better l wrap in brown Paper bag then one of Lakeland green stay fresh bags put in fridge and they stay lovely and fresh, l’ve never wasted any yet.

I agree with Athenia. A friend of ours who was undergoing treatment for cancer, was told by his consultant to only ever buy organic carrots. We find that, if we keep them in the original plastic bag they last for ages (as long as there isn’t a bad one in the mix).But once the bag is opened I dry them thoroughly before I put them back in the fridge.

Another vote for home grown carrots. . I’ve grown them in several deep troughs using compost. The thinnings have been delicious roasted. One packet has kept us going all summer and now the ones left are a good size. Just pull out what we need, rinse under tap, when we need and we had forgotten what real carrots taste like.

unigran your GP would love our fresh carrot tops too.

I always store my veg in the green Stayfresh bags from Lakeland, they certainly work and are totally reusable.

I don't think it helps when they are packed in plastic bags which make them very sweaty! I now take them out as soon as I buy them.
They're more expensive, but you can't beat the flavour of a freshly grown carrot, not watery like the mass produced ones.

unigran

vissos

I use those green bags from Ecoegg. Expensive, but keeps veg fresh for weeks, more than a month in some cases. And they can be reused. Tried some cheaper ones from Amazon but they don't work the same at all, think they're just coloured green.

I use Stayfresh bags from Lakeland and they work quite well, especially for broccoli. I agree with OP, have noticed that carrots are small and scrawny at the moment, but they keep reasonably well.

Avocados
I'm the only one that eats them in our house. I can only eat half and end up throwing other half away as my storage attempts have been unsuccessful.
Any ideas?

I buy carrots (not pre-packed) as and when I need them which is very frequent. I wrap them in a brown paper bag until I use them, in the veg basket. I used to wrap them in foil and put them in the salad drawer of the fridge and they kept for ages.