How To Grow Carrots

Best Containers To Grow Carrots In?

Carrots can be grown in just about any container as long as the following rules are applied.

The container is at least 18 inches deep: to allow for root growth and full development of the carrot.

Well draining: carrots will rot if left in moggy conditions so making sure your container doesn’t fill and hold water is important

Space: your carrots need enough space to not compete with each other and the container should be big enough to grow more than a few carrots.

How much space do carrots need?

On average carrots are spaced 1 inch apart. After sprouting has occurred the carrots are thinned to a spacing of 2-3 inches to avoid root competition. Rows of carrots should be 16-24 inches apart in the ground to allow for walking between rows if planted in a container the same 2-3 inch spacing can be used between rows.

Container options include:

• Milk jugs
• Storage bins
• planters
• Garden beds

Best Practices To Use For Carrots To Grow Well

Do carrots need full sun?

For fully developed carrots they require a minimum of 6 hours per day with most varieties preferring 8-10 hours of direct sunlight a day. Check out this post for more vegetables you can grow in the shade!

Companion plants for carrots

Good companion plants for carrots are plants that have shallow root systems that wont directly compete with the carrot root. 5 Companion plants for carrots included:

1. Onions, Get all your garden onion questions answered in this post.
2. peas (paid link)
3. cabbage (paid link)
4. lettuces
5. herbs

How deep to plant carrot seeds?

Carrots seeds are planted 1/4 inches deep or about half the length of your pinky finger. Birds will eat seed that is planted to shallow.

How long to grow carrots from seed?

The average time to grow a carrot from seed is 65 days. There are a few larger varieties that require up to 80 days. You will want to check your seed pack for exact grow times. However leaving the carrots in the ground for a few extra days will not harm them. I recommend pulling 2-3 carrots at harvest to see if they are the size they should be before pulling the whole batch.

When to plant carrots?

Planting times for carrots varies by growing zone (read more here) carrots need a cooler period of grow time. Below is a table of time of year when to plant carrots by state:

Varieties of carrots

There are sub varieties of these carrots they include different colors and sweetness levels. Some carrots do better in different water and soil environments. Chantenay is known for performing well in a rocky or heavy clay soil. Imperator carrots prefer more of a sandy or fluffy soil. If you have very rocky soil try Nantes they hold there form better than other varieties when growing against rocks and other debris found in the soil. and finally Danvers a great all soil carrot can handle any soil type and still create a great crop.

Pick the carrot that best fits your growing environment or just experiment the biggest benefit the growing at home is you get to try types of carrots not found at your local supermarket. With a little effort you can replicate the soil variety for the type of carrot you would like to grow.

Do Carrots Need Fertilizer?

Carrots require potassium to grow a healthy root system. If you have grown root crops in soil in prior years you will want to amend your soil with a potassium rich fertilizer. ( Most fertilizers sold today will have a balanced mixed that will work fine for growing root crops, Don’t overpay for fancy claims of root treatments). Learn more about fertilizing your garden in this post.

Common carrot pest and disease

Problem insects for carrots are

• Snails, Learn how to get rid of slugs and snails in this post.
• Slugs
• Carrot rust flies
• Carrot weavels
• Cutworms

These insects can usually be found in carrots when either there is moggy conditions leading to root rot. Or the carrot is stressed do to care or weather conditions. Insects seek out unhealthy plants. Address this issue by making sure your carrots are in good condition and Appling netting over your plants will reduce access to the insects.

Disease problems found in carrots are

• Aster yellow
• Crown rot
• Black rot
• Heat cankers

Some of these diseases cannot be prevented due to being spread by insects. But netting can limit insects access to the carrots and reduce the chances of disease. If you do notice yellowing or other signs of disease and rot it is best to remove the effected plants and any plants in the immediate row next to it.

I know it can be difficult to destroy plants but these diseases and pest will spread in days if not hours of finding the carrots and whole crop loss is common if drastic steps are not taking. Do not compost any diseased or infested plants. If possible remove the plants from the property to ensure no further spread.

Pest treatment for carrots

If you want to treat for pest control we encourage a organic solution. We have seen the most success with Captain jacks dead bug brew. Its is considered an organic pesticide. If you already have a pest problem remember to remove the infested plants. Organic pesticides work best as a preventive treatment not so well after infestation has started. Read this article for more organic ways to remove bugs from your garden.

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