As carrot seeds take about 8-12 weeks to germinate, I half expect none to germinate in my neck of the woods.
Growing carrots, like growing anything, is a learning process.
Carrots start out their life as a dormouse, with bare stalks, as they don’t yet have leaves.
However, I’ve seen neighbors with rows upon rows of carrots.
So I like the idea that I can half create my own carrot garden and have vegetables available all year long.
The way I do it is to start a lot of my seeds way ahead of the growing season, and just thin to the carrots once they’ve proven themselves well.
contrasted with a vegetable garden, the carrot is lighter, easier and a lot more self-sufficient.
weed and pests are minimised, and I’ve yet to see a sick carrot since I’ve planted it.
The carrots can dig their own troughs, and they grow like mad.
The fact they are so prolific is kind of amazing, and I’m sure that the fixtures and effort spent making them are worth it in the end.
Carrots are at the moment my favourite vegetable to grow, although I have to say that raspberries are delicious too.
There’s nothing better than picking ones that have been grown organically, and they’ll taste better too.
The best advice I can give anybody who wants to start growing their own carrots, is to get a packet of carrot seeds, as growing them from seed, which can be quite hard, will leave you with a lot of sickly, weak carrots.
My carrot seeds have been germinated, and planted out in the garden about eight weeks ago.
They are now 3.5m high, and while the taller, main tapering ones are creeping along the top of the wall, the smaller ones are burgeoning around the fence.
At this stage they’re easily identified by the yellow stalks that have formed, which are an indication of their having been planted from seed.
As the seeds have got so far into the soil, they are well established, and showing no signs of wilting.
Mealy bugs
As the baby carrots get bigger, the realised plants don’t need to compete for nourishment with the mature ones.
Therefore, about a month after planting, I cut some of the leaves off the larger plants.
The smaller ones were well established before I cut them, so this was a great opportunity to shine a light on the less obvious parts of the root system.
Try and lift the older carrots out of the ground when you’re digging up the carrots, as this should give them a nudge to start growing again.
Planting carrot seeds
Soil Preparation
Before you start planting your carrot seeds, the ground needs to be prepared. If the soil is hard and clays, wait until half way through the winter to start planting and if you’re lucky enough to have a warm spell during the winter, then you can begin to sow directly into the bed. The one tip I have to offer is to make sure you correct the pH level of the soil.
Carrots grow best at a pH of 6.5-7.0. You can buy DIY soil testing kits from larger nurseries, or take a sample to a nursery if you’re interested.
Add organic matter to the soil, such as well rotted manure or a built up garden compost. These matter will need to be worked in for at least a week.
Plant your seeds 2cm deep and spacing them 30cm apart. Once the seeds are planted, cover them over with soil.
Water in well.
Thinning out unwanted shoots
If you don’t want your carrots to end up with an uneven shape, you need to thin them out. There are two ways to do it – the first is to pull every sprout out by hand, and the second is to spray with a fine mist to remove them. It is important to spray the seedlings with water, as carrots do not do well in dry soil. By spraying them with water, you reduce the chance of unwanted root growth.
When thinning is complete, make sure the carrots are completely boned out. There are tricks for getting them ready for storage, but if you want them to keep their freshness, they’ll have to be stored well. One tip is to separate the carrots into 10cm lengths. To store carrots, they must be wrapped in perforated plastic bags to keep the bugs out.
Carrots will keep for up to 6 months if stored in a cool, dry place, such as your garage.
Varieties of Carrots
Peach carrots areigned with the word ‘caping’
