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Carrots

Carrots Carrots are easy to grow and in good soil it is possible to get a succession of cropping throughout the year. They come in many shapes and sizes from the long, tapering varieties preferred by exhibitors, to the stump rooted and cylindrical varieties, more preferred by amateurs for their taste.

They will grow in most soils as long as it has not been freshly manured, this will cause them to form distorted and forked roots. The longer varieties do prefer a more sandy soil so that they can send their roots down deeper.

For early crops, the seed may be sown in cell trays indoors in mid winter and planted out late winter under cloches.

For outdoor sowings, the seed can be sown from March until July to give a succession of crops.

Sow the seed very thinly in drills 9" apart and just thinly cover the seed with soil. The smaller round varieties can be sown in bands 9" apart, but again sow very thinly. Sowing thinly reduces the need to thin the Carrots out, so reducing the risk from Carrot fly. A sprinkling of Chlorophos along the rows can help with Carrot fly problems.

If transplanting cell sown Carrots into a deep bed, each cell can be planted out in staggered rows 6" apart each way.

As the seedlings come up, thin out to allow 3" between each plant.

Keep the rows free of weeds and as the Carrots get bigger earth them up slightly to ensure that the shoulder of the root is covered. This prevents it turning green and deters the Carrot fly.

Pull the early and successional sowings while they are young and tender. They are ideal for use in summer salads. The later sowings can be left to mature ready for winter use. Lift the crop in late autumn and store them in boxes of damp sand or Vermiculite. If they are left in the ground they will split and can attract slugs. They are also difficult to get out of the ground when it is frozen solid.

Pests and Diseases

Carrots suffer from a few pests such as Carrot fly, Wireworms, Eelworms and Aphids. Diseases of which storage rot is usually the biggest problem also include Violet root rot, soft rot, Black rot, split root and Sclerotina rot. (See relative Pests and Diseases sections for prevention/cures).