A Carrot Growing Primer
By Vanessa Richins
I have 2 guinea pigs. Sometimes it feels like they can eat their own weight in carrots. I need to start growing my own carrots!
Carrots are a cool season vegetable.
They can be planted in the spring as soon as the ground has thawed. You can also plant a second crop in the fall. Best growth happens when the temperature is between 60-70F.
If it is too hot, growth will slow and the roots will become coarse and develop a bad flavor. If it is too cool, the roots will be too thin and long.
Growing your own carrots starts with well-drained soil. There shouldn’t be any stones or clods, and it needs to be loose. Carrots are the roots of the carrot plant - if it encounters rocks or other hard items, the root may curve, fork, or both! It also needs to be fairly deep so the roots have room to grow. You can use a container as long as it is at least 1′ deep.
Plant seeds .25″ deep in rows that are 1-1.5″ apart. You can plant seeds every 3 weeks until early July if you would like to have carrots throughout the whole growing season.
As far as watering goes, carrots are not drought tolerant. Water thoroughly about once a week. If you water less frequently but for longer periods when you do, it will promote deeper root growth. This is especially beneficial for a root vegetable like carrots.
Harvesting the carrots is easy. When the visible part of the root is .75-1.5″ wide, just pull out the whole plant. You can pull it out earlier if you want baby carrots.
Store your carrots in a cool, humid location. Enjoy!
I’d love to hear about your carrot growing successes!
July 29th, 2008 at 4:33 am
Lovely simple piece about how to grow carrots successfully.
I grow a lot in pots, simply so that there is better control of conditons and pests. People can grow the golf ball varieties (eg Thumbelina) which only need a 6 inch pot and kids love them. This year I am trying black carrots!
Lots more growing tips in the World Carrot Museum.