Quick Reference
When to Start |
Late Spring
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Crop Rotation |
Avoid planting in the same spot that celery, dill, fennel, parsley, or parsnips grew in the previous year.
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How To Plant |
Plant seeds 1/2" deep in rows spaced 6-9" apart
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Spacing and Support |
Start seeds 1" apart. As they come in thin to 2-3" apart by removing the weakest plants
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When to Harvest |
Leaves can be harvested to use as salad greens periodically throughout the season. Once root is showing above soil entire plant including carrot can be harvested
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Storage |
Will stay good for a week or 2 in the vegetable crisper. For long-term freezing works best.
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I would definitely put carrots in the category of something that is drastically better when you grow it yourself vs. buy at the store. One advantage is being able to pick them much younger than the monster carrots everyone loves to see at the farmers markets. If you know someone that hates carrots, saute some homegrown baby carrots in butter and see what they say then. You also get the fresh tops when you grow them yourself which are surprisingly good in salads. Finally, you have the opportunity to grow a wide variety of colors such as red, purple, yellow, and white that look great in party dishes and might even get your kids interested in carrots too.
When To Start
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Carrots are a cold tolerant plant late in the season, however they do need warm soil to get started. You can safely plant your seeds whenever you want, but they will only germinate and grow when the soil reaches a certain temperature. Seeds will germinate when the soil is between 45-75 degrees, however the time to germinate will vary greatly. At 75 degrees it will only take a week whereas at 45 it may be a few weeks. Optimal growing temperature is 60-70 degrees.
Generally speaking a good time to plant carrots is mid-May, or about a week or 2 before you plan to plant tomatoes, peppers, and other warm weather plants. . |
Crop Rotation
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Avoid planting carrots in the same spot that celery, dill, fennel, parsley, or parsnips grew in the previous year.
Click here to read about crop rotation and why it is so important It's important to not only avoid planting the same crop in the same spot 2 years in a row, but you also have to avoid plants in the same family as they typically draw on the same nutrients and have issues with the same pests. Click here to learn more about plant families and find a chart showing which ones are related. |
How to Plant
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Direct sow seeds right into the garden when the time comes. Seeds should be planted about 1/2" below the surface.
Carrot seeds are roughly the size of a grain of sand and are literally impossible to space out exactly as you want. Luckily companies like Fedco are now selling "pelleted" seeds for carrots and other similarly difficult seeds to handle. Pelleted seeds are encased in a natural material that breaks down in the dirt and makes it possible to plant 1 seed at a time exactly where you want it to go. |
Spacing and Support
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Plant seeds every 1" in rows spaced 6-9" apart. As the seeds germinate, pull out weaker plants so that there is a 2-3" space between plants.
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Harvesting
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Greens: Once the plant is well established you can remove leaves here and there for a continuous harvest all summer long without killing the plant. But don't take too many, remember the leaves are the solar panels that draw in energy to the carrot down below.
Carrots: You'll start to see the carrots popping through the top of the soil just a bit when they are ready. You may need to just find out the hard way by yanking one out to see how they are coming along. It won't be a waste because you can eat the stalks. Carrots are delicious when they are young and finger sized, however you can maximize your growing space by strategically pulling some out in the summer and leaving others to grow as big as possible for a fall harvest. |
What to do with way too many of them
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Juice them. Toss those carrots into a juicer with some other fruits and veggies and add a nutrient rich treat to your day for a few weeks. If you don't have a juicer, you can just boil them and then put them in the blender. Save the juice int he refrigerator to add to smoothies or just drink as is.
Mash them. Basically here you are just going to make mashed potatoes using carrots instead. It will use up a lot of carrots and is a much healthier alternative. You can also cut them like french fries and bake them until crispy which our whole family is a big fan of. Freeze them. You're probably having flashbacks to TV dinners but trust us, you'll be happy you have something you grew in your garden to use well into the winter. Its a side-dish and an easy addition to soups and stir-frys. |