Hi there, I don't grow veggies, but just popped in to see what was happenin'. Congratulations on the weight loss. I too lost weight eating fruits and veggies. They are filling and low in calories. Best to you and your veggies! Dee

Hi Cabrita, You can collect seeds from them. They are biennials, so yes, that means they flower in their second year. If conditions are right(or not right, lol) they may flower in their first year especially since you have a long growing season. Carrots grow umbel like flower heads and make lots of seeds. Most people forget they know carrot flower heads, not from their gardens, but from Queen Anne's Lace which is a wild carrot. If you have Queen Anne's Lace nearby flowering at the same time, you will need to bag your blossoms since they will cross-pollinate. Beets grow upright candelabra type flower stalks, and will make a good amount of seeds too. Beets cross pollinate from long distances away like 5 miles, so you will need to bag your blossoms if you wish to keep you seeds pure. One plant of each will give you more than enough seed for your garden. It is normally recommended to save from more than one plant to keep genetic diversity. If you are saving for certain characteristics though that doesn't matter. Remy

I'm farther south than you are and don't really know your zone but I planted beets and carrots the last week of August and they are doing amazing and I probably have another month before they finish. I posted a link below that might be helpful to you for next year. Here is a link that might be useful: Planting Guide NC

I agree that certain things compete if they have similar growing times. But lacking space and wanting to experiment is fine. And fun. I put a row of watermelon radishes down the middle of my carrot row last year. They did great lacking the space. Not sure how the variety would do, i did not want to give them prime real estate. Different growing speeds can work. I don't harvest carrots till late sept.-oct. I grow a variety of beet for the greens. Wanting to try a new variety of arugula, i added some seeds in the same spot. It was a good grower for me and long gone salad before the beets greens were of a good size. Last year i put golden beets with the beet greens, 25%, and they did well together. Golden beets are big. The beet green beets are tiny. I plant way to tight but my soil is good and fed and not roto-tilled. Well mulched. Put to bed properly in the late fall. Very tempting for a young, or small garden, to want to try a variety of crop. Plant less of each and save some of those seeds for next year. My sugar snaps are massive now. Still a few weeks to go. This weekend i'll put a row of baby French bush in a row just behind. They will like the shade to get established and do well as the snaps come out. All other pole beans went in last week on the other side of the trellis. It is a little hop and jump to get crops to work well together in small spaces. But it also stretches out the garden work so it is not at all a 'chore'. I put three tomatillos down the middle of the bean bed. Smart? Who cares. They like it there. Always have. I have a challenging location. Altitude, high winds, lots of storms, Full sun. Heat during the day and cool at night. Salad planted tight with shade frames. I have salad all summer. My neighbors give up early July. If a crop does not do well one year, try again for three years. Every season is different for everyone. I've had first frost as early as August 28th. Last year was October 12th. Last year i had no fruit. This year is see a possible explosion. Cherry tree is full. A black raspberry patch i did not plant. Must have been deposited by birds a couple yrs ago...