How to grow... Carrots
Rocket Growing Guides
Growing carrots is pretty straightforward – the two key things to remember are to make sure the soil quality is good (more on that below) and protect them from carrot root fly (also detailed below). Beyond that, they just need to be kept weed free and well watered – they are such a great crop and it’s always a delight to pull them up from the ground.
- Carrots Growing Guide
How to Plant Carrots
- Carrots will grow best in very light, deep, sandy soils and not so well in heavy or sticky clay soils. Be sure to remove any big stones before planting.
- Choose a sunny spot to grow your carrots
- If you don’t have the right soil, use a planter or dig a trench and fill with good quality compost
- Raised beds are perfect, but they can be grown in deep (30-40cm) containers/planters too
- You may find more than one seedling growing in each bio-pot (as pictured). It is best to pinch off all but the largest, strongest looking seedling so that they have space to grow. You could also try carefully teasing them apart and planting separately.
- Plant 10cm apart
- Carefully peel off the bottom of bio-pot before planting – this simply opens up space for the carrot to easily grow deeper
- Cover with horticultural fleece to protect from carrot fly
How to Grow Carrots
- During dry spells, water well two or three times a week. Doing this will ensure the moisture in the soil remains fairly consistent which will prevent the carrot roots from cracking/splitting.
- Take care not to damage roots when weeding.
- When you think they are ready for harvesting, usually carefully dig one up with a garden fork, loosening the roots before you pull it up, and check the size.
Common Pests and Problems with Carrots
- Brown patches on carrot roots – this is normally caused by carrot root fly – the maggots tunnel into the roots to feed and the roots start to rot. Try intercropping with onions/garlic next time, and cover with horticultural fleece.
- Crack/splits in roots – this is a common problem if the plant has experienced very dry and then very wet conditions. Try to water more to keep soil consistently moist.
- Roots eaten – voles, mice and rodents can tunnel underground to nibble on the roots. Keep rodents under control!
- Roots not growing – could be not enough water or not enough space. Or simply didn’t put a decent root system down.
- Funny shapes – carrots can be a little misshapen when transplanted as they are very sensitive, and heavy clay-like soils or stony soil can also disturb the roots.
How to Harvest and Store Carrots
- Harvest in summer/autumn, approximately 6-7 weeks after you plant them. You should be able to see that the carrot crowns are the right size – they usually pop above the surface a bit so it’s easy to tell. If not, pull one up to check – the others will be roughly the same size.
- Harvest before frosts
- Leaves are edible too, but quite bitter – you can use them to make pestos (use a feta-like goats cheese – it works beautifully)
- Either store at cool, room temperature with the leaves cut off, or if you’d like to store them a bit longer, wash them and pop them in the fridge for a week or so.
- You can also keep carrots in the soil – cut the green foliage off and then cover them with a layer of straw or cardboard. To keep them from getting waterlogged, cover the cardboard with a polythene sheet.
