Gardening > Grow Your Own... Carrots
Carrots are a tasty and versatile vegetable. Grated raw into salads, lightly
boiled and served with the Sunday roast, eaten young or mature they are hard to
beat.
Carrots do best in a light, well-drained soil in a sunny position. If your soil is heavy or stony it may be a good idea to choose a short variety of carrot. Alternatively grow your carrots in a deep, raised bed with a soil ph of over 6.5.
Before sowing carrot seed in the vegetable plot prepare the soil well, digging it as deeply as possible and removing as many big stones as you can. It is better to dig in any properly rotted down manure or compost at least a year before sowing carrot seed to avoid the risk of root forking.
Germination of carrot seed is very poor at temperatures below 7 degrees Centigrade or if the soil is very wet. To get the earliest possible outdoor crop of carrots use cloches to raise the temperature of the soil. Sow a quick-maturing variety like Nantes.
By sowing early and then maincrop carrot seeds it is possible to harvest fresh carrots for several months.
Sow the seeds about 1/4 inch deep in rows. Leave 12 inches between each row. When the seedlings appear thin them out to a distance of 3-4 inches.
Water the carrots regularly and protect them from carrot fly which can ruin the crop. Use a fine mesh netting as a physical barrier against insects including the low-flying carrot fly. To help lessen the chance of attack by carrot fly sow carrot seeds sparsely. When thinning out the seedlings the leaves get bruised and the smell attracts the fly. Do not leave the thinnings near the vegetable plot. Also plant onions near the carrots as the smell may deter the pest.
As the carrots mature keep hoeing the weeds from the rows. Draw a little earth over the tops of the carrots pushing up through the soil to prevent the flesh turning green and to further deter the carrot fly.
If your soil is light, maincrop carrots can be left in the ground in early winter. If the soil is heavy they should be lifted and stored in a clamp or in boxes of sand in a frost-free shed.
If you have any questions you want to ask or any information you want to share please visit our friendly community forum.
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Grow Your Own... Carrots
Carrots do best in a light, well-drained soil in a sunny position. If your soil is heavy or stony it may be a good idea to choose a short variety of carrot. Alternatively grow your carrots in a deep, raised bed with a soil ph of over 6.5.
Before sowing carrot seed in the vegetable plot prepare the soil well, digging it as deeply as possible and removing as many big stones as you can. It is better to dig in any properly rotted down manure or compost at least a year before sowing carrot seed to avoid the risk of root forking.
Germination of carrot seed is very poor at temperatures below 7 degrees Centigrade or if the soil is very wet. To get the earliest possible outdoor crop of carrots use cloches to raise the temperature of the soil. Sow a quick-maturing variety like Nantes.
By sowing early and then maincrop carrot seeds it is possible to harvest fresh carrots for several months.
Sow the seeds about 1/4 inch deep in rows. Leave 12 inches between each row. When the seedlings appear thin them out to a distance of 3-4 inches.
Water the carrots regularly and protect them from carrot fly which can ruin the crop. Use a fine mesh netting as a physical barrier against insects including the low-flying carrot fly. To help lessen the chance of attack by carrot fly sow carrot seeds sparsely. When thinning out the seedlings the leaves get bruised and the smell attracts the fly. Do not leave the thinnings near the vegetable plot. Also plant onions near the carrots as the smell may deter the pest.
As the carrots mature keep hoeing the weeds from the rows. Draw a little earth over the tops of the carrots pushing up through the soil to prevent the flesh turning green and to further deter the carrot fly.
If your soil is light, maincrop carrots can be left in the ground in early winter. If the soil is heavy they should be lifted and stored in a clamp or in boxes of sand in a frost-free shed.
Very Early Crop
Sow short rooted varieties in early March under cloches. Can be lifted in June.Early Crop
Sow short-rooted varieties in late March/April in a sheltered position. Lift in July.Main Crop
Sow long-rooted varieties April/early June for lifting in September/October.Late Crop
Sow short-rooted varieties in August and cover with cloches from October onwards. Lift in November/December.The Green Chronicle Community
If you have any questions you want to ask or any information you want to share please visit our friendly community forum.
- Organic Gardening Home Page
- Buy Gardening Books in The Green Chronicle's Book Store.
- See other Gardening Websites in The Green Chronicle's Directory.
- Visit The Green Chronicle Shop for seeds and garden products.
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