Growing Carrot

Daucus carota : Apiaceae / the umbelliferae family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
    P P P P P          

(Best months for growing Carrot in USA - Zone 5a regions)

  • P = Sow seed
  • Easy to grow. Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 46°F and 86°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 2 - 12 inches apart
  • Harvest in 12-18 weeks.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Onions, Leeks, Lettuce, Sage, Peas, Radishes, Tomatoes, Beans, Celery, Rosemary
  • Avoid growing close to: Parsnips, Beetroot, Dill, Brassicas, Fennel

Your comments and tips

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23 Oct 12, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate)
The idea is to retain moisture while the seeds are germinating
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26 Oct 12, peter merriman (Australia - temperate climate)
Thanks for that Liz, I also found out that watering runs off the side of the board and not directly onto the seeds.
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24 Mar 13, Ian (Australia - temperate climate)
HI Peter... anything that can act as a heavy mulch to keep the ground moist should do. Hessian bags are great as they can retain moisture themselves and keep the soil underneath moist as well. You can take them off every now and again to check on the progress of your seed(ling)s.
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02 Oct 12, Cheryl (Australia - temperate climate)
I have a lovely crop of carrots when I picked a couple last night one was only small and the other one was a good size about 15cm but both very pal orange and when I cut them they had a large pal green area in the middle and they tasted bitter as if not yet ready. Does anyone know why they are not sweet and bright orange.
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05 Aug 12, elizabth duncan (Australia - temperate climate)
which soil should i use in a large pot for the carrots. do they like a lot of sun. i have a very sunny spot on my front verandah?
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06 May 12, warshu (Australia - temperate climate)
I planted some carrots around two months ago, but they all eaten by slugs and snails. any tips to protect my carrots?
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22 Apr 13, Ferran (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Blue tongs and other lizards make them welcome, very welcome. Another tip is crushing all your egg shells after roasting them in the oven. spread over the soil it deters snails and slugs as it gets into there skin and pricks them.
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03 Jun 12, adam (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
I use the snail pellets made from iron Chelates, no poison at all. None of that nasty Metaldehyde, because I have a dog. Completely harmless to everything except snails and slugs.
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22 Nov 12, Cat (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Hi Adam, I was interested in your comment on the snail pellets as my greens are getting destroyed by snails at the moment and I don't use any poisons in the garden. I thought you might be interested in this article which suggests that iron chelate snail pellets do indeed have the potential to be poisonous - hostalibrary.org/firstlook/RRIronPhosphate (you might need to add www on the begining and htm on the end - had to delete them to get the post up). I've been having some success with coffee grounds, but the 'beer traps' have been a complete fail.
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17 May 12, hz (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Here's an off-the-wall idea I read recently. Crush strong peppermints to a powder and sprinkle along emerging carrots/parsnips/radishes. The peppermint smell confuses the snails/slugs/bugs that love the new growth. I haven't tried this myself, but I am going to test it out, should be very easy to prove if it works by doing this to one row but not another! Good Luck !
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Showing 241 - 250 of 371 comments
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Carrots: -- Germination minimum temp is 2c: optimum germination temp is 10c to 25c (the temperatures must be sustained). Seeds germinate over a 2-week period -- if crust forms on the top of the soil, germination will be restricted. *********** Optimum growing temps : 15C to 20C , with a minimum of 5C and a maximum of 24C Outside of the growing range (less than 5c or more than 24c) the carrot goes into "dormancy/holding pattern" with extreme temps killing the carrot. ********* Average days to harvest for carrots is 60 to 80 days. The days to harvest are calculated based on ideal growing conditions (temperatures/sunshine/water). *************** Having lived in your area MANY years ago – I can recall – and checked with environment Canada – Based on last year’s temp – June was a good month to start planting carrots – and September had decent carrot growing temps – as did the first week of October. I would plant carrots in semi-shade as Stoney Creek can get VERY HOT in mid-summer – and this is a problem for carrots that don’t like temps over 24c. ********* So, what I see is a total of 129 days of good carrot growing weather (June 01 – to the first week in October). You need 2 weeks for germination and depending on the type of carrot about 80 days to harvest: total of 94 days. If you plant starting June 01 – you can plant carrots every couple of weeks until around July 5th (07/05 plus 95 days yields a date in the first week in October). If you want to do only 2 plantings – then I would plant on June 01, and again the last week of June. This is based on 80 days to harvest – if you have carrots with a higher number of days to germination and/or days to harvest (like dragon carrots that take 90 days) – adjust accordingly. You need your last harvest in by the first week in October so count backward to find your last planting date. Bolero Nantes have the following stats: Germination 10 - 20 days and days to harvest 70. The site indicates that your last planting should be 3 months before your first expected frost date -- and it looks like your first expected frost date is October 15 -- which yields a last planting date of: July 15th which is a couple of weeks later than what I have calculated .... remember that Nobody can guarantee what your weather will be ..... when it comes to your last planting, I would error to the side of planting a little early -- and I would feel a little bit short on time with a July 15th planting...but I have heard of people planting later and doing just fine.

- Celeste Archer

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