About Carrots
These root vegetables are easy and quick to grow. First grown in Afghanistan 900 AD, 1/2 cup of chopped carrots contains 25 calories, 6 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, and 0.5 grams of protein. That same 1/2 cup has 73% of your daily vitamin A, 9% of your daily vitamin K, 8% of your daily potassium, 5% of your daily vitamin C, and 2% of your daily calcium and iron. High in antioxidants, carrots are said to benefit your eyes, heart, and lower your risk of cancer. Carrots can help with constipation, help fight infection, and strengthen your bones. Now lets talk about how to grow carrots.
How To Plant Carrots | Daucus carota
If you have ever had fresh carrots pulled from a garden, you will know how delicious and great they taste, and you will want to grow your own. In fact, they taste so good, once you eat one, carrots bought in the store will never again taste the same. But, carrots can be a bit frustrating between the lengthy germination and diseases and pests.
Carrots can be difficult to grow mainly because of disease and weeds. Weeds are very competitive for the rich soil, and carrots can be slow to germinate, opening the door for weeds to come in and make a home. With some proper knowledge and skills, you can easily grow the best tasting and most nutritious carrots you will ever eat.
Carrot Varieties
There are a lot of different varieties of carrots. Choosing the right varieties will help with the success of your crop season. Carrots are categorized into 5 different types based on shape and their size. Each type has many different varieties. The 5 types of carrots are:
- Nantes – I prefer this variety because they are easy to grow, and they typically have small strong tops. They are very round from top to bottom with a sweet flavor and a hefty crunch. They are quick growing carrots and matures faster than many other types of carrots. There are over 40 different varieties of this type like ‘Touchon,’ ‘Napoli,” and ‘white satin.”
- Chantenay – Before Nantes, the best to grow were Chantenay. This type of carrot usually grows 6 – 7 inches long, and are a great choice for container gardens or poor soil conditions. It is veryy important to follow the seed packet directions on harvesting time, because the taste of these carrots becomes woody and does not taste good if harvested late. Some varieties include ‘Hercules,’ ‘Carson Hybrid,’ and ‘Red-Cored Chantenay.’
- Danvers – This is your typical looking carrot, when you think of carrots. Long, skinny, orange, and taper to a point. They are the most tolerable to poor soil, and they are the easiest to grow. Some varieties includes, ‘Yellowstone,’ and ‘Half-Longs.’
- Imperator – This is the typical carrot you will find in stores. They are smaller than Danvers, but are also thicker and have a higher sugar content than other types of carrots. Preferred varieties include ‘Imperator 58,’ ‘Cosmic Red,’ and ‘Japanese Imperial Long.’
- Mini or Ball – These are small types of carrots that can look like radishes, and do very well in limited space gardens and containers. This type has many variety only ranging about 3 – 4 inches long. Some preferred varieties are ‘Romeo,’ ‘Paris Market,’ and ‘Babette.’
There are many different varieties, so it is very important to determine the type first, then the variety of carrot you can grow. Read the seed packets!
How To Grow Carrots
Carrots are root vegetables, and they grow best in cooler temperatures. You can grow them easily in small gardens, containers, and of course large areas. Some varieties can grow rather quickly, and do not take too long to mature. They can be sowed the start of spring right after the last frost has melted, and you can continue to sow in your garden new seeds every week for continuous harvesting throughout the fall.
Just like other plants in your garden, the soil surface should be cleared of rocks, weeds, and trash. Use organic soil or homemade compost if you are able to, and try to grow then in a sandy loam that drains very well. Thick heavy soil will slow the mature time, and the vegetable will be unattractive to eat, and rough. Carrots do not like rocky soil, and it will lead to poor root quality.
Growing conditions
Carrots thrive in good soil. They like good drainage, and soil ph 6 – 6.5. You can add fertilizer or lime if your soil needs improvement. This vegetable does not like high nitrogen amounts in the soil, so do not use fertilizer with like 10 – 10 – 10. Use one closer to 5 – 10 – 10.
Plant this vegetable in loose well draining soil, and they will not do well if the soil is compact or have a high clay content. I prefer to plant my carrots in fresh newly tilled raised beds. This helps with draining and compact issues.
These vegetables loves the sun, and should be placed in an area they will get over 6 -hours of sun.A drip system is great at keeping thee soil evenly saturated, which is important because you never want your soil to go from drought to soggy, and back again continuously. This will effect the root system and cause potential disease. Moist soil will also allow you to pull the carrots instead of digging them up at harvest time.
Growing Carrots From Seeds
Ideal temperature for sowing your seeds into the ground is 77°F. Seeds will germinate best with cooler temperatures, but lower can temperatures slow the maturing and growing process. For this reason, starting seeds in late fall will lead to better germination. Having good soil is very important, and not having weeds or trash will greatly increase your crops survival.
Plant your carrots in raised bed rows. Remember this vegetable grows down and does not take up that much space side-to-side or above the soil. Sow thee seeds ½ inch into the soil, 1-2 inches apart, with 2-3 seeds per divot. Choosing disease-resistant varieties can be the best way to avoid unwanted disease and crop loss.
When the tops are about 2 inches, you can pull out the weakest sprouts leaving only the strong to survive. This will aerate the soil, and make way for the strongest plants to thrive, after all growing the best vegetables to eat is the name of this game.
Remember again, weeds will dominate over carrots and seal the nutrients. Always de-weed and keep de-weeding throughout the season to ensure happy healthy crops.
How to Harvest Carrots
How to Harvest Carrots
Harvesting carrots is fun and easy. Start pulling when you see the tops of the carrots rounds, and they look mature in color and size. Some varieties can stay in the soil longer than others. If the soil is a sandy loam or loose, just grab the tops and rip up. It is fun and rewarding. If the soil is more compact and hard, you can use a shovel, and dig them up, but that is not as fun.
To check the size of the carrots you grew, gently wipe away and remove some of the dirt that might be covering the tops of the carrot and check it out. If it looks good, geently lift the carrots out of the soil.
It takes about two months for the carrot to be ready, and you can see when it is ready when the crown of the carrot appears at the soil line. The green tops of the plant can help determine the maturity of the carrots too. Darker and deeper green colors can help determine maturity.
The how to grow carrots video below will help with a more step-by-step approach with visual aides for questions you might have.
Carrots are fun for kids to grow and help out, and they can be washed and eaten as soon as they are pulled. There are many different varieties of carrots, and they come in all different colors to choose from. Do not be scared to try different types of carrots to grow and enjoy. You will find some types are sweeter than others, and some are more robust in flavor.
I hope this helped with any questions or concerns you might have had about how to grow carrots. Get out there and grow!
Pests and Disease
Diseases
- Alternaria leaf blight Alternaria dauci- Green-brown lesions on the leaves that turn yellow, then dark brown or black. This is a fungus that occurs by over watering the crops in warm weather. You can use fungicides when symptoms first appears on thee leaves.
- Cercospora leaf blight Cercospora carotae- Small halo looking holes on the leaves that are brown or light brown, that eventually curls up. This is a fungus introduced usually by infected seeds, wind or water. Use fungicide sprays if noticed on younger first foliages.
- Cottony rot (Sclerotinia rot) Sclerotinia sclerotiorum- Fungal infection of the crown and roots. White fluffy fungal growth that decays the carrot tissue and causes it to be uneatable. This fungus can stay around over 10 years, so if you have it, treat it!
- Downy mildew Peronospora umbellifarum- This produces yellow spots on the upper surface of the leaves, and white fluffy growth on the underside of the leaves. This is a fugal infection that occurs in heavy overpopulated areas that are wet and needs better drainage.
- Powdery mildew Erisyphe heraclei- This is a fungus that causes powdery growth on the leaves and stalks of the plant. Infection will distort the flowers and will not let the plant reach maturity. Try to plant tolerant varieties, and use fungicide if seen.
- Bacterial leaf blight Xanthomonas campestris – Bacterial infection caused from contaminated equipment or water. This infection causes small, angular yellow spots on the leaves, leading to an irregular leaf shape and yellow halos. Leaves will curl, distort, and dry out. Commonly treated with bactericides.
- Soft rot Erwinia carotovora- A bacterial infeection that causes sunken dull orange lesioons on the top root and causes the top to become soft and collapse.
PESTS
- Aphids (Willow-carrot aphid) Cavariella aegopodii
- Carrot rust fly Psila rosae
- Carrot weevil Listronotus oregonensis
- Flea beetle Systena blanda