How to Grow Carrots

Use these tips to learn how to grow carrots in your garden, from seed to harvest.

How to Grow Carrots

Carrots are incredible fun to harvest. It’s a mystery how they will look and if you planted any of the fun color varieties, you get a real surprise. While carrots aren’t the easiest to grow they are one of the funnest to watch. Carrots take a long time to grow for harvest, often 70=80 days so starting them early is a good plan. Here are some tips for growing carrots.

How to Grow Carrots from Seed Indoors

Carrots typically take a couple of weeks to germinate so starting them inside may be your best option if your growing season is not as long as others. This should be done about 2-3 weeks before you can transplant outdoors after the last frost.

Start carrots in easily compostable containers for the best chance at not disturbing the delicate roots.These are fairly inexpensive and really are the best option, especially if you are a new gardener.

For more information on how to start carrots from seed, check out this post.

How to Transplant Carrot Seedlings

Transplanting carrot seeds does require some extra care, but it absolutely can be done. Make sure you have the right soil by adding some compost and nutrients to it. You will want to make sure it is soil that will help hold moisture as carrots do require a lot of it.

Dig holes as large as the pots you started your carrots in. Place each one in it’s own hole and make sure to thin out any that double sprouted. Make sure to thoroughly soak the soil when you have them established to make sure it can reach the roots. For more information on how to transplant carrot seedlings, check out this post.

Pests and Carrots

The carrot rust fly is probably one of the most destructive pest for gardeners of carrots. The best thing you can do is prevent them with a physical barrier such as a hoop house. You can also use yellow sticky cards to keep them from taking over. These can be bought at most garden supply shops.

You can also try doing some companion gardening. Since these rust flies like the smell of carrots and that is what draws them in, try planting things they don’t like the smell of nearby such as garlic or onions.

How to Harvest Carrots

Unlike many plants, carrots taste best when there has been a frost or two and when they are a bit smaller. This helps concentrate the sugars in the roots and gives it a sweeter taste. You will know when carrots are ready to harvest when they are about ½ inch at the top. To harvest, simply grab the base of the carrot at the stem and pull out.