Growing Carrots from Seeds – Carrot Farming

Carrots are one of the most popular vegetables in the world. It can be used in stews, soups, cooked separately or salads.
Carrots are rich in fibre and minerals and is also available as a delicious juice that you can buy in shops or supermarkets. Carrot peels are good feed for chickens, parrots, hamsters and other pets. You don’t need to be a farmer to be Growing Carrots from Seeds – Carrot Farming

Growing your own carrots is not hard and in South African climate can be planted all year round. You don’t need to make seedlings and can plant carrots directly into the area you have set aside for growing your own carrots.

If you do not have a lot of space, carrots can be planted basically anywhere from pots, vegetable boxes or even in buckets.

Carrots grow best in a cool environment and wants mostly sun during the day. Your average temperature for growing carrots should be around 24 degrees Celsius.

Preparing the bedding for carrots

Prepare your soil and remove excess rocks so your carrots don’t fork. It is always advisable to add some manure and compost if you have heavy soil to your planting area. Double dig your planting area and raise the bedding to ensure you have rich soft soil.

Rake your ground evenly and place the handle of the rake on the bedding to create straight lines of about 2.5 cm deep.

In general, carrot seeds should be planted 20 to 30 cm apart and 3 mm to 5 mm deep from each other. Sprinkle the seeds in the grooves you made with the rake and then close them by hand or garden spade. You can also mix the carrots seeds with dry sand before you start to sprinkle the seeds on the bedding. This will help to spread out the carrot seeds even more.

After germination the seedlings will grow fast. Keep the soil moist at all times. If the soil dries out completely during waterings, gradually add water over the next couple of days as sudden drenching may cause the roots to split.

How do you know when carrots are ready for Harvest

Once you see the carrot crown surfacing from out of the ground you know that your carrots is ready to harvest. If you harvest early you will find a finger carrot that is juicy and tasty. The longer you leave your carrots the bigger they will grow but keep in mind that they are now vulnerable to garden predators like the carrot fly and moles.

Harvest your carrots with a garden fork and store in a cool dry place. You can also store carrots in cool dry sand to last even longer.

Did you know you can grow Carrots from their tops!

How to Grow Carrot Tops a word of caution; when we say you can grow carrots from carrots, we mean the plant, not the root vegetable. The orange, kid-friendly vegetable is actually a taproot and once removed from the plant, it can’t regrow.

Growing carrots from their tops have a high success rate and are fun for kids. Water Method You can grow carrots in water. Cut the top from a grocery store carrot. You’ll need about one inch (2.5 cm.) of the root. Stick a toothpick into either side of the carrot stump and balance it on top of a small glass. Use an old juice glass for this since you’ll probably end up with mineral stains. Fill the glass with water up to and barely touching the bottom edge of the stump. Set the glass in a light, but not sunny window. Add water to keep it touching the edge and watch the roots sprout.

Plant them out when ready

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Growing Carrots from Seeds – Carrot Farming