Homeschool Garden Club - Carrots

I have been inspired by all of you trying to grown something new – new because you haven’t grown things before. Therefore, the new to me means I have decided to give carrots a go. I haven’t grown these before because carrots are relatively cheap in the supermarket and there is the issue of the carrot fly. Now the garden centres have opened up, I have been able to select a heritage packet. I should be pulling up a variety of different coloured carrots at carrot harvest time in October.

The carrot is a biennial which means it has a life cycle over two years. The original cultivated carrot appears to come from Afghanistan around 5,000 years ago. Carrots have traditional come in all sorts of colours: white, yellow, purple or violet as well as the modern-day orange.

It has been said the first orange carrot was developed in the 16th century Holland by patriotic growers who bred it as a tribute to the king. William 1 of orange.

Thanks to my NVQ students who have helped put this guide together

Carrots like to grow in deep, fertile, free-draining soil. They don't like stones, as these tend to make carrots grow in to very funny shapes and not so handy to peel.

It's time to sow early cropping carrots now, but if you can get main crop carrots you still have time as they can be sown between April and early July.

Make a note in your diary when you sowed and then count 12 weeks on so you know when to start thinking about picking. It wont be exactly 12 weeks because of weather changes.

I have filled up the carrot bag containers with compost. Then used my finger to make the drill line. I sprinkled the seeds sparingly into a line. Water the well and labelled.

I choose the container is to raise the carrots off the ground to fool the carrot root fly.

Another reason I have decided to have a go at growing carrots in a carrot planter (conveniently orange to remind me what I am growing) because I have stony soil. Carrots tend to develop lots of wiggly roots rather than one root when they hit a stone, this is called forking. It makes them difficult to peel and for some people they appear to be somewhat rude in shape.