Carrots
Preparing the Soil
Carrots need a well-drained, stone free soil that has been deeply worked. If the root meets an obstacle in the early stages of growth, it will branch or simply stop growing. Carrots prefer full sun but will tolerate partial shade, especially if the weather is very warm.
Carrots produce best in a raised bed. Till the soil to a depth of at least 8 inches, adding plenty of compost or well-rotted manure. Excess nitrogen causes branching and hairy, fibrous roots. Potassium promotes solid, sweet carrots. Wood ashes contain highly soluble potassium, which reaches the plants quickly. As you prepare the bed, work wood ashes into the top 4 inches of soil, where feeder roots thrive. Add lime if the soil tends to be acid.
Planting
Carrots are cool-weather vegetables, so start sowing about two weeks before the last expected frost in your area. Make successive plantings every three weeks until but avoid the hottest part of the summer. Furrows should be about 3/4 inch deep and 4 inches apart.
Place a 1/2-inch layer of peat moss in the bottom of each furrow, sow the seeds sparingly on top, then cover with about 1/4 inch of soil. Seeds must be kept moist to germinate. Mulching with straw will help hold the moisture, and will also make it easier to water without disturbing the seeds.
When sowing seeds, try to space them 1/2 inch apart. The tiny seeds make spacing difficult, but it will be easier to thin without disturbing the plants you plan to leave if there is a little space between them. You may want to try mixing radish seeds with the carrot seeds. The carrot seeds are slow to germinate, and the radishes, which germinate and grow very quickly, will mark the row until the carrots come up.
A second crop of carrots can be planted in late summer or early fall in most areas. If a hard freeze threatens, protect your fall crop with a heavy mulch. See Succession Planting.
Maintenance
The first few weeks after sowing determine the size of your crop. Carrots can't tolerate a deep planting in a dry bed, so the trick is to offer them a shallow sowing with even moisture. The seedlings grow slowly and can't compete with weeds. Hand weeding is recommended until the carrots are 2 inches tall. Thin the carrots to 3 inches apart, then mulch with clean straw and compost to keep the weeds at bay.
Mulching also helps the soil retain moisture and prevents "green shoulder," which is caused by exposing the crowns of the carrots to the sun, making the roots bitter. If the tops of your carrot roots start to turn green, pull the soil up around them. Overwatering your carrots can cause the roots to crack.
Common Problems
The insect to watch for is the rust fly. Carrots planted after the first week of June often escape the first generation of rust flies, and those harvested before September usually escape the second generation. Interplanting onions or garlic in the carrot beds will also ward off the villainous flies.
Compost and wood ashes will also scare off not only rust flies but carrot weevils, wireworms, and other carrot pests. Probably the best organic way to get rid of pests is to soak the bed once a week with a thin mixture of wood ashes and water using a watering can.
Most carrot pests and diseases are soil-borne and can be controlled by crop rotation.
Harvesting and Storage
Most carrots can be harvested in less than three months. The largest carrots will have the darkest, greenest tops, but don't leave the roots in the ground too long or they will be tough. Most are at their prime when about an inch in diameter at the crown.
When harvesting, drench the bed with water first, making the carrots easier to pull. When you find a carrot large enough, grasp the greens at the crown and tug gently with a twisting motion. If the greens snap off, carefully lift the roots with a spading fork. Use damaged roots right away and store unblemished ones.
Thick cored carrots store the best. There are three ways to store fresh carrots:
- Leave them in the ground under a heavy mulch.
- Store them in a root cellar or underground barrel.
- Keep them in the crisper bin of the refrigerator.
If the temperature seldom drops below 20 degrees F, you can leave carrots in the ground all winter. A thick mulch will help protect them during hard freezes.
Recipes
