Growing Carrot

Daucus carota : Apiaceae / the umbelliferae family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
    P P P P P          

(Best months for growing Carrot in USA - Zone 5a regions)

  • P = Sow seed
  • Easy to grow. Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 8°C and 30°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 5 - 30 cm apart
  • Harvest in 12-18 weeks.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Onions, Leeks, Lettuce, Sage, Peas, Radishes, Tomatoes, Beans, Celery, Rosemary
  • Avoid growing close to: Parsnips, Beetroot, Dill, Brassicas, Fennel

Your comments and tips

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08 Sep 18, Rowan (South Africa - Humid sub-tropical climate)
Why are my carrot tops rotting.
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27 Jun 18, Nicole (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
I have read somewhere that you can't use the soil from a previous carrot harvest again. Is this true and why?
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14 Feb 16, Nico (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
I want to plant Carrots and Beetroot in Hartswater under irrigation, what is the ideal time and what fertilizer do I use please, i want to irrigate with micro sprincklers.
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17 Mar 16, Bee-Pie (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
Also, do not plant them in the same bed.
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17 Mar 16, Bee-Pie (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
Beetroots & carrots require very little nitrogen. Too much and you'll have big leaves at the expense of root development. Phosphate and potassium encourages more root development.
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14 Aug 14, mpfu (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
what fertilizers needed to grow carrot
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23 Jul 14, Teboho Mohai (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
Hi,what kind of organic manure needed to produce more quality and good looking carrots?
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18 Mar 14, sandeep (South Africa - Dry summer sub-tropical climate)
hi i have seen some leaves coming out of carrot when we kept in a trey can i sow the carrots in soil? so that i can get the seeds. please tell me.
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13 Jun 13, craig (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
Can carrots be planted in bags? What form of soil should be used? Can carrots be plamted now if in a warm protected area? Thanks
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03 Mar 13, Mkhu (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
What might be a problem when carrots becomes short and seems malformed. What can I do?
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Showing 11 - 20 of 21 comments
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I grow carrots really successfully every year, twice a year. We don't have Carrot Fly in Australia, as far as I know.Carrots fork a lot when grown in freshly manured or fertilised soil. I grow them about 15 cm apart, the rows that is. I water the soil after raking it even. Then sow the carrots, and then put old fence palings over them and press them down a bit to get the seeds in contact with the soil. If it's sunny, I water the boards lightly every day for a few days, just to keep them moist. This is the trick to germinating the seeds. After a few days, between four and seven, Icheck by lifting up a board. If you see little green shoots that look like new grass, in the area you sowed the seeds, then you have germinated. I then lift the boards up about two inches or so, and put little bits of something under the boards at the ends to keep them there foe a few more days, to protect the new carrots from excess heat. After that, I just take the boards away, and I seem to get very good germination with this method. Carrots don't have a hard growing tip, so if they have to struggle growing down, they will twist and get weird shapes. Parsnips DO have a very strong growing tip, so I plant them together to get the soil opened up for the carrots. Hope this helps. Cheers.

- adam

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