A Carrot Growing Primer

By Vanessa Richins

I have 2 guinea pigs. Sometimes it feels like they can eat their own weight in carrots. I need to start growing my own carrots!

Carrots are a cool season vegetable.

They can be planted in the spring as soon as the ground has thawed. You can also plant a second crop in the fall. Best growth happens when the temperature is between 60-70F.

If it is too hot, growth will slow and the roots will become coarse and develop a bad flavor. If it is too cool, the roots will be too thin and long.

Growing your own carrots starts with well-drained soil. There shouldn’t be any stones or clods, and it needs to be loose. Carrots are the roots of the carrot plant – if it encounters rocks or other hard items, the root may curve, fork, or both! It also needs to be fairly deep so the roots have room to grow. You can use a container as long as it is at least 1′ deep.

Plant seeds .25″ deep in rows that are 1-1.5″ apart. You can plant seeds every 3 Read the rest of this entry »