Why Grow Carrots?
While the yield is moderate and they are relatively affordable, the fact that conventional carrots are heavily sprayed makes organic options essential. Carrots also stand well in the ground and reach peak sweetness after a few frosts, making them perfect for winter harvests.
How Many to Grow?
Carrots are easy to plan for. Simply calculate how many you eat weekly and sow 20% in March, 20% in April, and 60% in June. For those who prefer salad or very early carrots, a more detailed guide is available to help refine your planting strategy.
Who Should Read This Guide?
This guide is particularly useful if you have sandy soil, carrot fly problems, or aim to grow carrots year-round. However, it will be beneficial for anyone interested in growing carrots, regardless of their soil type or pest pressures.
Suitability for Different Growing Environments
Carrots thrive in sandy soil but can struggle in clay or stony conditions. Luckily, they also grow well in containers, making them accessible to gardeners with challenging soil conditions.
Lifecycle
Carrots are best sown directly into the ground and may take some time to germinate. However, once they establish, they grow reliably. Sown in mid-to-late spring, they are ready to harvest in about 90 days. Keep in mind that early sowings can sometimes go to seed if exposed to stress, such as temperature fluctuations, which can affect their growth and quality.
Sowing and Harvesting Periods
Carrots are one of our favourite crops for fresh snacks, salads, soups, and more. Growing them year-round requires some planning, but the effort is well worth it.
Ways to Grow Carrots
There are three common approaches:
- One big batch: Usually sown in May and frozen, but this method doesn't suit us as we prefer fresh carrots.
- Small batches: Sown every few weeks from late winter to mid-spring, followed by larger batches in late May or June for winter and early spring harvests.
- Regular sowings: Often in containers, for harvesting throughout the year.
We recommend option two for a balance between taste, pest control, and efficiency.
Super Early (Sow in Late October for a Harvest in May)
Sow in late October or early November in containers under cover. Protect seedlings during frosty days with fleece and move them outside in April. A small percentage may go to seed, so start harvesting early for the best results.
First Earlies (Sow in April for a Summer Harvest)
Sow in April for a reliable summer crop. You can start in containers or sow directly outdoors under fleece for protection from carrot flies.
Second Earlies (Sow in May for an Autumn Harvest)
Mid-to-late May is an ideal time to sow second earlies. Sow directly into the soil for quick germination and strong growth through autumn.
Early Main Crop (Sow in June for an Autumn and Winter Harvest)
Sow your main crop in June for a late autumn and winter harvest. This timing is ideal for sunny spots, ensuring your carrots mature in optimal conditions.
Main Crop (Cooking) (Sow in Late May or June for Winter and Early Spring Harvest)
Sow in late May or early June for slower-growing varieties like Eskimo, which hold well in the ground through winter into early spring. Using a cold frame can help protect against frost and slugs.
Main Crop (Salad) (Sow in Mid-June for a Winter Harvest)
For tender, sweet carrots, sow in mid-June and harvest throughout winter. These are ideal for salads and taste best after a light frost.
Late Crop (Sow in July for an Autumn Harvest)
Sow in July for small, sweet carrots that can be harvested in autumn and early winter. This succession works well in containers or smaller gaps in your garden.
Recommended Varieties
We grow a range of carrot varieties to ensure a continuous harvest throughout the year. Experimenting with different varieties helps find what works best for your growing conditions.
Where to Plant
Carrots prefer firm, well-drained soil free from stones and organic debris. Plant in beds that had crops like brassicas or peppers the previous year, as they benefit from the residual nutrients. Good light levels are essential, though they can tolerate light shade.
How Many to Sow (Spacing)
At Wellies and Waxjackets, we understand that there are many confusing guidelines for sowing carrots. These can vary based on factors such as light exposure, the time of year, desired carrot size, variety, and more. Below are the guidelines we use for sowing carrots.
Carrots in Containers
We use containers of various sizes—25L, 30L, 35L, and 50L. Since damp containers can become heavy, we recommend a maximum size of 35L if you plan to lift them. For carrots that will remain stationary in the polytunnel until harvest, we opt for two 50L containers.
We only grow small carrots, around 6-8 inches long and up to 3/4 inch wide, which are ideal for spring, summer, and early autumn. For this size, a density of one carrot every four square inches is optimal.
Calculating density in round containers can be tricky, so we suggest leaving about 2 inches of spacing between carrots in all directions. The approximate number of carrots per container after thinning is as follows:
| Container | Total Number After Thinning |
|---|---|
| 25 Litres | 30 |
| 30 Litres | 35 |
| 35 Litres | 40 |
| 50 Litres | 50 |
Carrots in the Ground
While we prefer growing carrots in the ground, space constraints can sometimes be an issue. When sowing in the ground, we typically plant in 6-8 inch rows. Although many people recommend wider spacing, this method works well for us. Sometimes, carrot stems may become 'leggy'—long and floppy—as they compete for light; however, this doesn't seem to impact yield.
Spacing along the row is roughly 1-2 inches after thinning, resulting in a density of 6-12 square inches per carrot. This is significantly more than in containers, but the carrots are typically 2-4 times larger. We find that slightly bigger carrots tend to hold better in the ground.
For even larger carrots, you could give them more space—up to 4 inches in a row—but we would only do this for a variety like Autumn King. If you want to grow a small number of really big carrots for storage, you could even space them at 4 inches apart in the row and 12 inches between rows, though this spacing is not economically viable.
How to Sow
Sowing in Containers
There are a couple of methods for sowing carrots in containers. With pelleted seeds, we sow at our target density. Otherwise, we prefer to sprinkle the seeds on a well-watered surface of weed-free compost. Generally, we sow 2-3 times as many seeds as we want after thinning, not worrying too much about perfect evenness—that's what thinning is for!
We then cover the seeds with loose, weed-free multi-purpose compost, often using spent potato compost.
After covering the seeds, we give them a good watering. In hot weather, we cover the container's top with a sheet of wood or a similar material to reduce evaporation, leaving it covered for about a week. In cooler weather, a good watering at sowing time is usually enough.
Alternatively, you can create depressions in the surface of the compost, about ½ inch deep and spaced 2 inches apart, then drop 2-3 seeds into each depression, cover, and water.
Both methods work effectively.
Sowing in the Ground
There are two primary techniques for sowing carrots in the ground. We prefer using a short length of tile batten (2 inches by 1 inch by about 1 foot long) to create a shallow trench in well-watered ground, about ½ inch deep and up to 3 inches wide. We then sprinkle carrot seeds into this trench, cover them, and water. This method allows us to easily space the seedlings 2 inches apart within the drill after thinning, which is trickier with all seeds in a straight V-shaped drill.
Since we are sowing at a higher density in a flat-bottomed drill, we give the rows a bit more space.
How to choose between the options? If you are using pelleted seeds that germinate well, we recommend using the V-shaped drill and sowing 1 seed every 1.5 inches, thinning to 1 seed every 1.25-2 inches. If you are using uncoated seed or seed with variable germination, then sow in a wide drill at double the required density and thin to 1.25-2 inches between seedlings.
How to Prick Out/Pot On
We generally do not prick out carrots; we sow directly and leave them alone unless thinning is necessary. Some people do report success with transplanting very young carrots. You might want to try this if you have gaps to fill during thinning, but when we have attempted it, the transplanted carrots have always been stunted and/or forked.
Protecting and Supporting Your Plants
If you have carrot fly issues like we do, covering seedlings with fine mesh is crucial. Early carrots can also be covered with horticultural fleece.
For seeds sown in April, cover them as soon as you’ve sown them, or at worst, before thinning; we’ve regretted waiting until after thinning to cover.
If covering isn’t feasible, sow in mid-June and harvest in early October.
How to Feed Carrots
Carrots are light feeders, so they thrive after heavy feeders that help break up the soil, ensuring it remains firm but not compacted. We follow this approach and typically add a handful of blood, fish, and bone (in powder form) per square meter, along with a handful of seaweed meal. Avoid high nitrogen feeds unless you are growing carrots primarily for their edible green tops!
Watering
Carrots develop deep tap roots, so it’s essential to water thoroughly before sowing to ensure those tap roots can access moisture. Additionally, carrot seeds need to be kept moist until they germinate.
In autumn, winter, and early spring, this is usually easy, and carrots may not require additional watering after sowing. However, in late spring and summer, when sowing key main crops, it can be more challenging.
Even with daily watering, summer sun can dry the top inch of soil by day’s end. To combat this, covering the soil helps increase humidity and retain moisture.
Materials like hessian sack cloth, woven landscape fabric, or fleece work well for this purpose. Some even cover the row with a plank of wood, though slugs often find refuge beneath wood. We prefer hessian as it allows for watering while also absorbing moisture, acting as an additional reservoir.
Check under the covering every few days, water if needed, and remove it as soon as you see the first few seedlings. Continue watering until full germination occurs.
Subsequent watering depends on the weather; however, make it infrequent and heavy. In dry conditions, carrots typically require at least an inch of water every two weeks once they reach about 4 inches high, although this will vary based on how well your beds or containers retain moisture.
How to Thin Carrots
Carrots can sometimes germinate unpredictably, so it's advisable to oversow them. Ideally, this will result in the perfect density, but if not, here’s what to do:
The method of thinning depends on when you’re growing, how you’re harvesting, and the intended use for your carrots, making it more complex than it appears.
When to Thin:
- Growing Season: Summer carrots require less space than autumn carrots, which compete more for light.
- Harvesting: Carrots harvested in March (before carrot fly season) can be selectively harvested, creating space for the remaining carrots to grow. However, if you do this in late spring or early summer, you risk attracting carrot fly by thinning slowly.
Tips to Avoid Carrot Fly:
- Thin late in the evening.
- Mask the scent of carrots with crushed garlic or onion.
- Thin quickly by either pulling out excess seedlings or snipping them off. For speed, we sometimes leave snipped seedlings where they fall and cover them with netting quickly. Otherwise, snip and place removed seedlings in water.
- If possible, thin containers at a height (e.g., on a workbench or compost bin) rather than at ground level.
How and When to Harvest
One of the great aspects of summer carrots is their ability to remain in the ground for extended periods while still tasting good. Spring-harvested carrots tend to have a shorter shelf life, while autumn and winter varieties (especially Touchon and Eskimo) can last for months in the ground and maintain excellent flavour.
To harvest regular carrots, simply pull them out; for larger ones, push down slightly and then pull. In some cases, you may need to loosen them with a fork.
How to Store
While it's feasible to harvest late autumn carrots and store them in sacks, sand, or compost for winter use, we typically leave ours in the ground. We choose varieties that stand well and don’t split, and we generally have great success with this method.
In contrast, we do harvest beetroot and store it in damp wood chips. The reasoning? We allocate significantly more space to beetroot than to carrots, we face more slug damage with beetroot since it grows above ground, and beetroot is large enough to store easily while keeping well.
Most of our carrots remain in the soil or compost, lasting until the end of winter without issues. By April, they start to degrade slightly as slugs become more active. At that point, we switch to container-grown carrots or harvest some main crop carrots for storage in compost.
Using these two methods, we rarely store harvested carrots for more than a few weeks
