Carrot growing for the first time.

[deanna]

Hi - any pointers about how to grow carrots in my garden? Never done anything like this before but am fancying having a go.

[Clanad]

Carrots do best if the soil is fairly sandy and/or loamy. Lots of organic material. Additionally, it needs to be tilled fairly deepl... say 10 inches or so. Plant the seeds about 2 inches apart and when they are up sufficiently thin to at least 2 or 3 inches if they are closer. Keep the rows at least 12 to 15 inches apart. Plenty of water but not so much as to waterlog the soil... keep them well drained. Do not over fertilize (especially nitrogen) else you'll get only very big tops and mal-formed roots. Best fertilizer is a little organic material such as fish meal or bone meal.

A soil temperature of around 65 degrees F is best... they like cool temps. A soil Ph of 6.5 is ideal. Pick out any rocks when you're tilling the soil to keep from having mal-formed roots...

[Whoever]

You've really picked the wrong time of the year if you were planning on doing them this summer, unless you've got some containers and a greenhouse. In Spring, dig the soil until it's a fine tilth and sow thinly in row around mid April. When the seedlings are about one inch high, thin them out until they're about one inch apart. You can also sow carrot tapes which are more expensive but make it easier as the seeds are sealed in a paper tape, already put it at the right distance apart. You simply lay out the tape in a shallow ridge, cover with soil and water regularly. The paper tape slowly disintegrates over the growing period.