Carrot - Vegie

Carrots are a good vegie to grow if you are just starting out - most kids love them too! We have chosen baby carrots for our Patch Kits because they grow quickly, as well as needing a smaller amount of space and depth making them perfect for containers too.

How...

• Make sure your soil has no rocks and stones. Rake the soil smooth and mark a row by running your finger down the soil or by laying a broom handle down and pushing it lightly into the soil to make a straight line.

• Because carrot seeds are small you can mix them with some sand to make it easier to spread them evenly. Sprinkle the sand mix (if using) or the seeds evenly down the row you have made. Cover gently with soil and push down lightly. Water gently so the soil does not wash away.
• Water your seeds every day – they need to be kept damp so they can germinate. Once your seedlings come through you will need to ‘thin’ them out. This means to pull out some of the seedlings so the ones left are spaced approximately 3 cm apart. This gives your carrots room to grow.
• Your carrots are ready to harvest at around 9 weeks once you can see the top showing above the soil. Only harvest them as you need them – they will keep fresher this way.
• Pull them out, wash and enjoy!

Tips

Grow carrots from seed directly into the ground or your pot/container – carrot roots can be damaged easily.

Don’t mix too much organic material (manure and compost) into the soil directly before planting your seeds - if your soil is too rich your carrots can grow in all directions and fork which will leave you with some strange looking carrots. Carrots prefer poorer soil, this way they will grow straight down looking for nutrients and food.

Don’t overfeed your carrots, they don't like lots of fertiliser especially  chook poo and liquid fish feeds, these are high in nitrogen which can cause your carrots to grow lots of leaves on top but not much carrot underneath!