Description for Carrot Red
You can grow carrots all year round – and they are so simple! Just sow carrot seed regularly for a year-round crop.
Carrots are an easy and rewarding crop to grow, great for encouraging children to eat their vegetables! With so many varieties of this popular vegetable available, carrots can be grown in beds, containers and even window boxes making them suitable for gardens of any size.
Carrots are a popular root vegetable that are easy to grow in sandy soil. They are resistant to most pests and diseases, and are a good late season crop that can tolerate frost.
Not all carrots are orange; varieties vary in colour like purple, black to white.
| COMMON NAME | FLOWER COLOURS | BLOOM TIME | HEIGHT | DIFFICULTY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| wild carrot.Daucus carota (Botanical name) | – | Year round | From 6 inches to 3 feet | Easy |
Planting and care
Orange carrots are the traditional standard, but you can try growing white, yellow, crimson, or even purple-skinned carrots, too.
More important than colour, though, is choosing the right root size and shape to suit your soil. Carrot size and shape varies by type, and there are five major categories. Ball-type, Chantenay, and Danvers carrots have blocky shapes that can handle heavy or shallow soil, while slender Nantes and Imperator carrots need deep, loose soil.
| SUNLIGHT | SOIL | WATER | TEMPERATURE | FERTILIZER |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| full sun, Will tolerate very light shade. | Requires well-drained soil. Good quality roots require plentiful moisture and soil that is deep, loose, free of stones, and high in organic matter. Roots can become twisted and forked in heavy, stony soil. Prefers pH of 6.0 to 6.8 but can tolerate 5.5 to 7.5. Requires only moderate nitrogen. Too much can cause root branching. | Average | For Germination 45-85 F For growth 60-65 F | Fertilize 5-6 weeks after sowing.Apply any fertilizer |
Caring for Carrot Red
- Gently mulch to retain moisture, speed germination and block the sun from the roots.
- Soil should be well drained and loose to prevent forking and stunting of the root growth.
- Once plants are an inch tall, thin so they stand 3 inches apart. Snip them with scissors instead of pulling them out to prevent damage to the roots of remaining plants.
- Water at least one inch per week.
- Weed diligently.
- Fertilize 5-6 weeks after sowing.
- Carrots taste much better after a couple of frosts. Following the first hard frost in the fall, cover carrot rows with an 18-inch layer of shredded leaves to preserve them for harvesting later.
Harvesting
Carrots are mature at around 2 ½ months and ½ inch in diameter. You may harvest whenever desired maturity is reached.
You may leave mature carrots in the soil for storage if the ground will not freeze.
To store freshly harvested carrots, twist off the tops, scrub off the dirt under cold running water, let dry and seal in airtight plastic bags, and refrigerate. If you simply put fresh carrots in the refrigerator, they ll go limp in a few hours.
Carrots can be stored in tubs of moist sand for winter use.