Carrots:
- Why you should grow it
- Carrots are high in vitamin A that promotes good eye health
- Can be planted close to taller plants like tomatoes, broccoli, kale etc as they shade the soil preventing water loss and keeps it cool
- They also take up different space as carrots grow below groun
d
- They’re a surprise every time you pull them up
- They come in many different colours; white, purple, orange, yellow & red
- How to start seeds
- Plant carrots in moist, not wet seed starting soil
- The soil must be loose, not compacted – carrots will not grow long if the soil is compacted
- Plant in early spring until August
- Plant shallowly
- Keep the top layer of soil moist until you see seedlings
- Water deeply first until seedlings, then water regularly
- Lightweight row cover or wood to cover the soil helps keep the soil moist and cool when planting in the summer
- They can take 3 weeks to germinate so be patient!
- It is not recommended to start indoors, direct sow only. As you are eating the root, you don’t want to break it in transplanting
- Tips for growth
- Sow every 3 weeks to have new crops coming up
- Thin seedlings to be about 1″ apart – you don’t want the carrots to be crowded in the ground, they’ll not grow very large
- They prefer good sun, but cool soil

- Plant near taller plants that will shade the soil
- Add a little mulch around the seedlings to help prevent evaporation and cool the soil
- Harvesting
- Loosen the soil around the carrot
- Pull up on the top green part near the base

- Pickle if you can’t eat them in time
- Harvest slowly through the season, they can be left in the ground for a while into the fall
- Saving Seeds
- You’ll have to wait until the following year to save the seeds, they are biennial
- Leave the carrots in the ground adding a floating row cover, mulch and anything else to insulate the carrots
- You can carefully dig them out and store in sand in a cool, dark place – a root cellar is ideal, hence the name!
- Replant carrots or remove insulation in the spring
- Carrots will flower and seeds will be ready to harvest in late spring