"Growing carrots
the how to..."

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.

Growing carrots - preparation:

Work the soil to about 12 inches deep and remove any large stones or other debris. The cleaner the growing area the better the carrot. 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.

Planting - when and how

Experiment with a few different varieties and get the kids involved. Kids love to grow carrots! Thompson & Morgan have some great varieties...

"Resistafly" "Yellowstone"
"Purple Dragon"

Growing carrots in the UK
Growing carrots in the US
For all other countries start from the homepage.. Thompson & Morgan

Make a drill with a stick or your finger in the newly worked soil about half inch 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.

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.

The thinning process

When the carrot seedlings are around 1-2 inches 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 per carrot to finish growing ( depending on the variety )

NB: 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 :-)

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!

You can find more about carrots and even a few recipe ideas in my book recently published with Findhorn Press. Grow Your Own Pharmacy You really can grow enough fruit and veg to keep your family glowing with good health!

Happy Gardening!

More Growing Carrots Reading

www.flower-and-garden-tips.com/growingcarrots.html