Sowing & Growing

Sow successionally March to August, Carrot seeds are small, but it’s wise to plant them as thinly as possible. This reduces the amount of thinning necessary and potential risk from pests. Mix the seeds with a handful of sharp sand and sow the seeds and sand together. Sand will also aid drainage. Once the seedlings are showing their first rough leaves, thin to 5cm between plants.

Carrot seeds hate drying out and germinate slowly (14 to 21 days) so if you’re sowing seed in summer, a good way to keep them moist is to lay wet newspaper on top of the damp soil. Once the seedlings are showing their first rough leaves, thin out to 10cm apart which minimises competition and enables the carrots to grow quickly to harvest size. The plants need little other attention during their growth period, although the plants should be kept well watered – too little water results in coarse, woody roots.

Harvesting will be expected June to October, start pulling up your carrots as soon as they are big enough to eat. It’s best to harvest them in the evening to avoid attracting carrot fly. Late-sown carrots must be lifted by October to be stored over the winter. Remember that winter carrots take a little longer to mature than summer carrots.

The window for planting carrots is actually pretty wide. The thing to remember is that if you’re planting for a winter crop, is to make sure you plant early enough to ensure they are fully grown before the winter comes. You can leave them in the ground and just dig them up as you need them. Dig up any remaining overwintered carrots by April so that they don’t start growing again.