Carrots are an amazing root vegetable. More than that, however, is their versatility: you can eat them alone, use them as a garnish for dishes, or to make any of the numerous carrot dishes that exist. What’s more? They offer diverse health benefits, such as immune system support, eyesight improvement, gut health support, weight management, and blood sugar regulation, among others.
Given all of these benefits, we believe carrots should be one of the plants in your backyard garden. For some gardeners, carrots are hard to grow. However, if you have the right information, they are easy to grow and need little maintenance.
If you want to grow carrots in your backyard garden, below is a guide on what to do.
Let’s start!
How to grow carrots
As you probably know, there are different varieties of carrots, such as Nantes, Belgium Whites, Danvers, Chantenay, Parisian heirlooms, Little Finger, and Purple Dragons. Also, carrots come in different colors, apart from the conventional orange we all know. Some of these colors are crimson, yellow, purple, and white.
Nevertheless, they all need the same conditions for optimum growth.
Plant in soft, sandy soil
The ideal soil for planting carrots is loose, sandy, well-drained soil, as heavy soil impedes their growth and doesn’t allow their roots to expand. If your soil is hard clay, we recommend you use containers or raised beds instead of planting directly in the soil. The containers or raised beds should be between 8 and 12 inches high.
Also, we recommend you till the soil and clear it of rocks, trash, soil clumps, and large pieces of bark before you start planting. We also recommend you add compost to the soil to enrich it but don’t overdo it as this can impede the expansion of carrot roots into the soil.
One more thing – carrots grow best in soil with a pH between 6.0 and 6.8.
Plant in early spring
Carrots are hardy plants and can survive in soil temperatures between 50 and 850F. However, the best time to plant them is in early spring, preferably two weeks before the final frost date of the season. If you want a fall harvest, we advise you plant your carrots in mid-to-late summer.
Ensure they get ample sunlight
While they can grow under partial shade, carrots thrive with lots of sunlight. Plant them in a spot where they can get between 6-8 hours of direct sunlight every day.
Provide ample spacing between plants
For the best result, plant carrots about ¼ inches deep.
Plant carrots about ¼ inches deep and 3 inches apart. However, given the small size of carrot seeds, we recommend scattering the seeds first and then covering them with about ¼ inches of sand, potting mix, or compost. Also, because of the small sizes of their seeds, it is hard to ensure they are evenly spaced when planting. So, wait till they start to germinate and thin them.
By the way, when you thin carrots, don’t pull them by their roots as this can damage the other plants. Instead, thin them by snipping with scissors.
Ensure they get sufficient water
Carrots require moist soil to grow. So, water them with 1 – 2 inches of water weekly. Also, we recommend mulching the carrots to protect their roots from the sun, help them retain moisture, and hasten their growth. You can also cover the plants with clear plastic for this purpose.
Weed regularly
Carrots detest weeds, so we recommend you remove the weeds that will inevitably grow as soon as possible. Also, endeavor not to disturb the carrot plants when you weed. We recommend snipping them instead of uprooting them.
Fertilize your carrot plants
If you want your carrot to be healthy, enrich the soil with low-nitrogen fertilizer after 5-6 weeks of planting.
Protect from pests
Carrots, like most plants, are susceptible to pests. To combat this problem, use a row cover and rotate your plants every year. One other thing you can do is to grow plants like chives or garlic among your carrot plants to ward off the pests.
