Growing Carrots

Growing carrots has it's challenges - especially with our clay soil. But knowing a few tips will help you grow them successfully. 

First thing to know is that they have a long germination period ranging from 10 to 20 days. It's best to sow the seed directly in the ground, and keeping the seed bed consistently moist is key for good germination. Covering them with burlap or a 1x4 board will help keep the soil moist (check daily and remove after two weeks or once the seedlings have emerged). Overseeding will help ensure a good crop (up to 10 seeds per inch), and thinning is a must (2 -4 inches apart) to allow each plant enough room to size up.  Watch this video from Renee's Garden Seeds for helpful thinning tips:

SOIL BED PREP
​This root crop will do best when planted in full sun (6-8 hours) and in soil that is well-drained. Sandy soil is ideal, but amending any soil type with compost and cultivated to a depth of 12 inches, should keep them happy. 

VARIETIES TO GROW 
Nantes and Danvers are probably the most well-known and both are heirlooms.  Nantes are good for cooking and fresh eating, but the skin is thin so they do not store well. The flavor is sweet and can mature to 7" long, but they can be pulled early  and eaten as baby carrots. Danvers is probably the most reliable in the garden. They grow to about 8", are good for cooking, not as sweet for fresh eating, but they store well.

Just for fun, venture away from orange carrots and grow purple  or red varieties. 'Purple Sun', 'Atomic Red', 'Cosmic Purple' are a few on our seed racks this year.  New orange varieties in seed packets include 'Shin Kuroda (a short one)', and 'King Midas (long and sweet). If your soil is less than ideal and you've had trouble in the past getting carrots to develop, choose a short, round variety like 'Romeo'' or 'Shin Kuroda'. 

​OTHER GROWING TIPS:
* ​Mix seed half and half with sand and scatter randomly across the bed. 
* If this is your first time planting carrots, use seed tape. It has the tiny seeds evenly spaced on a biodegradable paper 'tape' and requires minimal thinning. 
* Sow carrot seeds beginning mid April, and continue to plant every 3 weeks through mid summer.

seed tape photo by Sheila Terry

COMPANION PLANTING
*Carrots grow well with salad greens and other root crops like radishes. 
*Onions and chives make good companions in the garden repel the carrot rust fly. 
*Marigolds, nasturtiums, chamomile and calendula planted nearby will attract beneficial insects. 
* Avoid planting carrots and dill together. Even though they taste good together in the kitchen, dill does no favors to the carrot in the garden. 
*Another foe to the carrot is the tomato. In fact, if your carrots have been stunted in the past, it could be from being planted too close to tomatoes which excrete a chemical in the soil that carrots don't like. 

​GROWING GIANT CARROTS
For most gardeners, growing carrots is rewarding enough when the harvest is ready and we taste their homegrown sweetness. But for a few, the goal is to grow the longest or the heaviest carrot. Currently, the heaviest carrot was grown by Chris Qualley in Minnesota and weighed in at 22 lbs! It's pretty interesting to learn how these giant vegetables are grown. Click on this  link  - you may learn a few more tips on growing better carrots, or you may be inspired to grow your own giant veg.