Growing carrots in your backyard garden is one of the essential staple vegetables for home gardening. Home grown carrots are absolutely delicious, with no toxic pesticides that large commercial carrot growers can use. Below I am going to walk you through the basics of growing carrots yourself.
Season:
Carrots are generally planted during the first month of Spring, as they will require all of the moisture that will come with those spring showers. If your region of the world has mild summers, then the carrots may be planted during the summer as well. Do keep in mind that temperatures above 70 degrees are too hot for ideal carrot growth.
Soil Type:
Carrots like moisture, so you will want to make sure that the soil you're planting them in has a regular supply of H2O. Carrots will not grow well in dry or sandy soil. As carrots are a root, you will naturally want to remove any rocks, stones, pebbles, or other hard elements from the soil. Lastly, the soil will need to tilled loose soil that will allow the carrot root to develop uninhibited.
Temperature:
Carrots are ideally suited for temperatures of about 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Hotter climate will result in dry carrots that will not taste particularly well. Temperatures colder then 60 degrees will result in obviously smaller thinner carrots.
Natural Fertilizers:
Before you plant your carrots, you will want to prep your soil first. Adding lime or natural non toxic fertilizers are the best.
Planting Carrot Seeds:
Now the fun part of planting the seed carrots. Place them into the prepared soil at about a quarter of inch deep in long even rows spaced about 10 to 20 inches apart. Be sure and keep the soil around the seed beds loose, dried or crusted soiled will inhibit the seed growth. Placing fine composite soil over the seed is best. Make sure to keep the soil moist.
Cultivating:
Once the carrot plants start to grow, you will want to thin them out for growing room. Thin them out by about 1 inch apart. Once the adult carrot plants start to develop, you will want to thin them out again, this time by about 3 inches apart. Make sure not to over water the carrot in this developed stage, as they have a tendency to warp and crack.
Harvesting:
Harvesting your garden carrot crop can begin once the carrots have reached the maturity of about a finger length. Baby carrots are soft and juicy, while more mature carrots are more dense, but delicious nevertheless.
