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Planting Guides

Planting Guide – Starting Carrots from Seed

By Mavis Butterfield on March 23, 2016 · 10 Comments

carrotsCarrots are easily the most forgiving food you can grow.  They are slow to germinate, but once they do, they pretty much do all of the work themselves.  They can be harvested or “stored” in the ground until you need them.  They’ll tolerate a pretty wide range of temperatures too, so long as you mulch them on each end of the extremes.  If that weren’t enough, a homegrown carrot just tastes better–it’s a fact.

carrot seedsI usually grow several different kinds, just because I can. This year I’m growing:

  • Cosmic Purple {My favorite!}
  • Calliope Blend 
  • Danvers 126
  • Atomic Red

How to Grow Carrots from Seed:

Carrots should be directly sown in the garden about 2-4 weeks before the last frost.  You can sow them every couple of weeks for a continuous crop.  Sow your last crop about 2 months before the first expected fall frost {if you plan on a fall harvest}.  Sow the seeds about 1/4″ deep.  Thin seedlings to one every 3″ when they are about 1″ tall.  You can also overwinter carrots by planting them in October.  They will not likely germinate, but as soon as the ground starts to thaw, they’ll start to grow and you’ll have an early spring crop.

Carrots prefer loose soil.  Don’t allow them to dry out, or they will start to crack before you get to harvest them.  Consistent watering will yield the best flavor.

homegrown carrotsWhen are Carrots Ready to Harvest?

Because it’s impossible to SEE when carrots are ready, I usually go by the date on the seed packet, though, I have been known to leave them longer, if I am not ready to use them quite yet.  To harvest them, loosen the soil around them and lift them out of the ground like you are pulling a weed.  You can use a shovel too, but I have sliced and diced my carrots using a shovel too many times to go that route myself.

harvesting baby carrotsRandom Facts That Will Impress No One:

One carrot will provide you with 200% of your daily vitamin A.

Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny, is rumored to have not liked carrots.

The largest carrot on record was over 19 pounds and the longest was over 19 feet.  19 is the magic carrot number, I guess.

The average American eats 12 pounds of carrots a year.  Do you ever wonder how they come up with that statistic? How do they know how many pounds we are shoving down our gullets?

Okay, now get out there and grow some carrots.

~Mavis

P.S. For carrot preparation inspiration, check out Tender by Nigel Slater.  It features over 400 garden fresh recipes {carrots included, of course} and extensive gardening notes.  It will totally transform the potential you see in your garden.

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Comments

  1. Patty says

    March 23, 2016 at 6:57 am

    Good morning Mavis,

    I live here near you and am wondering if carrots will grown in containers in this area? Do you know how deep a container w/soil must be to have a good harvest?

    Thank you~Have a Happy Easter~

    Patty from the NW

    Reply
    • Phyl says

      March 23, 2016 at 5:13 pm

      Carrots don’t usually do well in containers. Carrots have a deep taproot that usually doesn’t have enought room in a container. With that said, there are always exceptions to any growing advice.

      Reply
    • Mavis Butterfield says

      March 24, 2016 at 6:54 am

      Hi Patty. I have grown carrots in my very deep stock tanks before with great success. I want to say they are about 2 1/2 feet deep though.

      Reply
      • Patty from the NW says

        March 24, 2016 at 9:15 am

        Great! thank you~ I have a very deep container box I will use . Enjoy our sunny day today~

        Reply
  2. Patty says

    March 23, 2016 at 7:09 am

    Hi again~

    You have quite a nice big yard from your pictures . Looks wonderful for your garden! My yard is very small in a close neighborhood you can hardly breathe in~

    I have 3 planter boxes in our small backyard that have done well the last 2 years ( I am new at trying out my green thumbs~still learning so much 🙂 ) Have to plant just we can use due to space, however would rather have more garden space .
    We will put in one more container in for this year.

    Do you live across the spit? Just curious we are searching for a retirement area with a little more property.
    Thanks again~ 🙂
    Patty from the NW

    Reply
  3. Carrie says

    March 23, 2016 at 7:20 am

    I tried carrots two years ago.. I think they were Scarlet Nantes. They tasted terrible – like soap. Any idea what went wrong? I planted them in a new raised bed with 1/3 each of compost, peat moss, and vermiculite.

    Reply
    • Amy says

      March 23, 2016 at 7:59 pm

      You should try growing the variety Tendersnax. It’s very sweet and more forgiving if your soils aren’t nice and sandy. Several seed catalogs carry it. A lot of the older OP varieties aren’t good for fresh eating. They were developed when most carrots were cooked instead of consumed raw.

      Reply
  4. E in Upstate NY says

    March 23, 2016 at 9:22 am

    Don’t grow carrots, buy what I need/want from the Farmer’s Market. Reason: my oldest son is deathly allergic to them! Have discovered many foods have carrots as an ingredient besides the “expected” ones. Since he started having issues, learned that the dye used in many medical tests gets its color from Carrots! Also, it shows his Nordic background. The largest population allergic to carrots is from Sweden, Denmark, and Norway.

    Reply
  5. Shannon says

    March 23, 2016 at 11:32 am

    I’m not a huge fan of raw carrots, but I love them cooked. We live in northern UT and I plant them at the beginning of July so they are full grown by fall and then leave them in the ground all winter. I just go out a dig up a bag full every couple of weeks or whenever we have a bit of a warmer spell. They are fantastic all winter and I don’t have to store them inside.

    Reply
  6. mandy says

    January 23, 2017 at 12:31 am

    I love throwing carrot seeds about to see how they end up. I put alot of effort into onion seeds last winter. and moved them around as the they grew I did end up with a few. I never realized how important these veges were when it came to soup! Been makin soup this last winter and what I can’t find in my garden I get at the dollar store. Bags of things I need for a dollar! What a steal!l
    I’m goin to plant more this winter in hopes that I’ll have every thing I need to make my chicken gnocchi soup, zucchini chicken alfredo soup…and I have to admit it’s hard to not keep drinking my stock once it’s cooked. It’s so good!

    Reply

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