How to Grow Perfect Carrots
It's easy to grow large, flavorful carrots - if you follow these few simple tips.
Equipment
- shovel and rake, or rototiller, if gardening in the ground
- Large container with holes drilled in the bottom, if container gardening
Materials
- Carrot seeds
Instructions
1. Select a growing site
- Choose a garden location that receives at least 4-6 hours of daylight each day. (Full sun is usually better if possible, but not necessary.)
- Ensure that your site has good drainage. Carrots love loose, well-drained soil.
2. Select your carrot seeds
- Play close attention to how long each variety takes to mature, as well as what type of soil they do best in. If your soil is heavy, consider a chunky type of carrot, like Red-Cored Chantenay, or Uzbek Golden.
3. Prepare the soil as well as you can
- Carrots love deeply-worked, loose soil. Till or dig your soil at least as deeply as the longest variety of carrot you’re planting. If possible, work in some good compost to improve the soil while you are at it.
- If you’re having a hard time finding a suitable plot of soil, consider growing carrots in a container. Large plastic tubs can work wonderfully for growing carrots. Just drill several holes in the bottom for drainage, fill with loose garden soil, and you’re ready to go!
- Don't be tempted to add manure, or other nitrogen-rich soil amendments. This causes carrots to form hairy, unshapely roots. Compost: yes. Manure: no.
4. Plant seeds, paying careful attention to spacing
- Plant carrot seeds about ⅛" deep, spacing them in rows 6″ apart, with seeds 2″ apart within the rows.
- Carefully spacing carrot seeds is tedious. However, it’s much easier to space the seeds optimally as you’re planting, than to come back and thin the seedlings later, which can also result in damaging the carrots you intend to leave.
5. Keep carrots well-weeded
- Carrots don’t compete well with vigorous weeds, so it’s important to keep the weeds pulled, especially as the young seedlings are just getting started.
Water attentively
- Carrots often take at least 7-10 to germinate, so it’s important not to let your seeds dry out before they have a chance to grow. You may find that you initially need to water your carrot bed each day, to prevent it from drying out.
- Once the carrots have all sprouted, you can water less frequently. Water the soil well and thoroughly. Wait until the garden bed feels dry if you run a fingertip along the surface. Then water again thoroughly.
7. Harvest when full flavor and color develop
- Carrots are ready to pick when their color fully develops. Once a carrot is fully orange, purple, yellow, or whatever color it’s meant to be, it’s ready to pick!
- Allowing carrots to sit too long after they’re ripe can cause cracking, so it’s a great idea to check on your carrots regularly to make sure they’re not getting past their prime.