What You Need to Know When Planting Carrot Seeds

So you’ve decided upon growing carrots from seeds this year. It’s easy!  You can even grow them in a planter box. Just plant the seeds inch deep, water, and weed. The carrot seeds will grow easily and are relatively pest free.

However, gardening being gardening, there are ways to grow better-tasting carrots than others. Begin planting in spring. Although you can grow more than one crop of carrots a season, if you plant in the hot part of the summer the carrots may taste bitter. You can plant again in fall.

Carrots like to grow in raised beds or other loose soil, since they are root vegetables. If the soil is too compact, they won’t have as much space to grow. They also do better in soil that is not rich in nitrogen, making them a good crop to rotate in after nitrogen-loving vegetables have had their chance previous years. One source suggests planting them in combination with radishes; the radishes will grow faster, breaking up the soil for the carrots and allowing earlier weeding and cultivation.

Choosing the Seeds

There are different varieties of carrots. While all are good for eating, some are more appropriate for planting at different times of year. You may also want to base your choice of seeds upon the size of carrots you want:  short and stubby or long and lean.

Seeds are readily available at nurseries, garden stores, even drugstore or groceries, and on-line. Because carrots grow so easily, they are a good crop choice when gardening with children, who will delight in seeing the tops spring up and then pulling them at various times to find out how big the roots are. Wash and eat!

top