"Growing carrots"Growing carrots in your garden is fun and very productive. Get the conditions right and you will have a great crop of vitamin-rich carrots.
Work the soil to about 12 inches deep and remove any large stones or other debris. The cleaner the growing area the better the carrots. Dig in some well-rotted compost a few weeks before planting if possible. The soil should not be too high in acid and should be light and well drained. Add a little sand if your soil is heavy. Carrots will tolerate some shade and will grow happily in short lines among your flower or herb beds.
Experiment with a few different varieties and get the kids involved. Kids love to grow carrots!Thompson & Morgan (UK) have some great varieties... Make a drill with a stick or your finger in the newly worked soil about half inch (1cm-ish) deep. Sow seed quite thinly and cover with light soil or maybe a little sand if available. Press earth down gently and water. Keep sprinkling water over the line of seed until germination ( 2-3 weeks ) and remove weeds. Carrots can take a while to germinate and it's a good idea to grow radishes in the same line. Radishes come up quickly and can be used before the carrots really start to mature. Find out more about growing radishes on this page...Growing Radishes NB: Sow short lines of carrot seed every couple of weeks or so. This will help you with the thinning process ( read on! ) and will provide new baby carrots right through the summer months - perfect for the salad bowl.   Growing carrots - after care:Carrots need to be kept weed-free so look over your carrot plants on a daily basis if you can and pull out any alien plants. Keep moist especially in very dry weather. But don't let the ground become boggy. Carrots will rot in very wet ground.
When the carrot seedlings are around 1-2 inches (3-5cms) high, you need to start thinning. Some gardeners leave the plants to their own devices but I have always found that thinning, although tedious, is necessary for an excellent crop! Go along the row and pull out seedlings to leave one every centimetre or so. Gently firm down the disturbed soil. A couple of weeks later, do the same leaving a little more space for each plant to develop. By the second thinning, the baby carrots you pull up will be just about edible! Wipe or wash lightly and eat them. These tiny carrots are very tasty and bursting with goodness. Then one more thinning should do it. The final thinning should leave about 2 inches (5cms) per carrot to finish growing ( depending on the variety ) Tip: Try and thin your carrot seedlings in the evening, if you can, to deter the carrot fly - firm down the soil after thinning as the carrot fly lay their eggs in the loose soil around the carrot seedlings.Carrot fly can also be detered by planting a line of onions close by. Cover tops of carrots with a light soil or sand to prevent tops from going green. Unlike potatoes, green carrots won't harm you but they don't look as good :-) Growing carrots - the harvest:Pull and use carrots as required. They are fairly hardy and will tolerate a fair amount of cold weather before they become inedible. I've dug carrots out of the snow and they've been fine! *Store carrots in a dry well ventilated room, in hessian sacks or cardboard cartons. *Alternatively, you can store carrots in a tub or barrel of dry sand if available. *Keep away from mice. Growing carrots really can be a family project. Carrots need a little attention, but the rewards are worth it! Happy Gardening! Grow Your Own Winter Food: A good diet incorporating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables is a must if you want to stay fit and healthy and keep the bugs at bay during the cold winter months. Growing your own winter food is just one way of ensuring you get the freshest, tastiest produce packed with goodness straight from the garden to the kitchen table. This easy-to-follow self-sufficiency book shows you how to grow your own fruit and vegetables for winter use and includes facts on each fruit, vegetable or herb as well as nutritional value, recipe ideas and storage suggestions.  Grow Your Own Winter Food is perfect for those with limited gardening experience, with gardens big or small who are looking to become more self-sufficient. Order it now direct from the publisher... Grow Your Own Winter Food Grow It, Cook It!: Many crops, including herbs, can be produced in a relatively small space with a little pre-planning and organizing: in containers, on a balcony, and indoors. Herbs are perfect for enhancing the flavour of cooking, treating minor ailments, and preventing colds and flu. Your own back garden will not only produce the best food on the planet for you and your loved ones, it is also economical, environmentally friendly and more fun than shopping. Gardening is more than a hobby; it's a way of life. .  This book provides all the information you need to keep your family and friends healthy, fit and enjoying life to the full. Order it now direct from the publisher... Grow It, Cook It! Grow Your Own Pharmacy: If, like me, you want to be able to eat the best food on the planet, grow your own!  • Clear instructions on planning, planting, growing and harvesting the fruits, vegetables and herbs required for a healthy vitamin intake. • Recipes and menus to help incorporate the fruit and vegetables into your daily diet. Grow Your Own Pharmacy Herbs and Spices: Some herbs grow vigorously, some are tender and need special growing conditions, some are annuals, some perennials, some you can grow indoors, all can be grown in pots or directly into the ground. There are also certain spices, such as chillies, that can be grown in temperate climates.  This clear and concise directory of herbs and spices provides all the essential information to help you grow a selection of these flavour-enhancing foods in small or large spaces. Ideas for which herbs and spices go best with which foods also accompany each description, so that you can really enliven your repertoire of recipes. Order it now direct from the publisher... Herbs and Spices Granny's Book Of Good Old Fashioned Common Sense is packed full of great ideas and tips. Granny brings traditional home-making up to date with cooking, gardening, needlecrafts and even games to play with the kids...Click on the link below to order your copy.  Cooking doesn’t have to be a chore and preparing nourishing home cooked meals for the family will certainly keep them away from the goodie shelf. Gardening encourages physical exercise and a good healthy dollop of fresh air. And you can get the kids involved too. Before the days of computer games and electronic pets, children used to have fun without rummaging about in the fridge every five minutes. Enjoy a few rainy-day games and crafts of yesteryear with today’s kids. They’ll love it and so will you! Granny's Book Of Good Old Fashioned Common Sense Back to Garden Vegetables Page Back To Flower And Garden Tips Homepage Click here to subscribe to "Creative Gardening" - Your FREE monthly ezine! www.flower-and-garden-tips.com/growingcarrots.html |
"Yellowstone"
"Envy" 
"Rainbow Blend"