LEARN HOW - to grow carrots
Carrots don’t like to be moved once sown so you can sow them directly into the soil or a deep container depending on the growing space you have to work with. For best results, plant them in an open, sunny space in rows 20cm apart.
When sowing, make a little drill 2cm deep and sow the seeds in it. Cover back over with soil.
They can be slow to germinate so don’t be alarmed if nothing seems to be happening! But keeping the bed or container moist will encourage germination.
Once germinated you will only need to water carrots in very dry weather (every 2-3 weeks). In fact, the drier it is the deeper the carrot root will grow looking for water which means bigger carrots!
Once they have started to grow, you will need to ‘thin out’ until you have about 5cm between seedlings.
Baby carrots will be ready about 7 weeks after sowing, and you can leave the rest behind to grow more (maincrop varieties take about 11-12 weeks).
Top tips:
* Carrot seeds are tiny and if the soil is lumpy they can fall down into the cracks between lumps! So you need to get the soil nice and flat by raking it.
* Carrots go green if exposed to the light so cover any exposed tops with soil.
* Try sowing carrots into toilet role before inserting into compost.
* Carrots are a bit particular, they grow best in fine, stone-free soil and dislike competition from weeds – use a hoe along the rows and hand-weed around the carrots.
* It’s best to use a garden fork to get the carrots out. You might break them if you try to pull them out by hand.
To discover more growing guides and resources - visit: getirelandgrowing.ie/resources/
When sowing, make a little drill 2cm deep and sow the seeds in it. Cover back over with soil.
They can be slow to germinate so don’t be alarmed if nothing seems to be happening! But keeping the bed or container moist will encourage germination.
Once germinated you will only need to water carrots in very dry weather (every 2-3 weeks). In fact, the drier it is the deeper the carrot root will grow looking for water which means bigger carrots!
Once they have started to grow, you will need to ‘thin out’ until you have about 5cm between seedlings.
Baby carrots will be ready about 7 weeks after sowing, and you can leave the rest behind to grow more (maincrop varieties take about 11-12 weeks).
Top tips:
* Carrot seeds are tiny and if the soil is lumpy they can fall down into the cracks between lumps! So you need to get the soil nice and flat by raking it.
* Carrots go green if exposed to the light so cover any exposed tops with soil.
* Try sowing carrots into toilet role before inserting into compost.
* Carrots are a bit particular, they grow best in fine, stone-free soil and dislike competition from weeds – use a hoe along the rows and hand-weed around the carrots.
* It’s best to use a garden fork to get the carrots out. You might break them if you try to pull them out by hand.
To discover more growing guides and resources - visit: getirelandgrowing.ie/resources/
Strokestown Tidy Towns is an initiative of Tidy Towns Ireland
|
Website layout, content & updates are managed by Strokestown Tidy Towns