Sowing Carrots

This is my first REAL year of trying to grow carrots. Years ago when I shared a community garden plot with some friends, we sowed carrots. For me, it seemed like a waste of time and space because the carrots probably tasted the same as the ones in the grocery store, they take what seems like FOREVER to germinate and you have to thin them! The carrots grew, but to me, they tasted like dirt. Nobody else thought they tasted like dirt, but I did, and so I never grew them again. This year though, The Victory Garden has a lot of room to try new things and since it is fenced off, critters won’t snack on the carrot tops.

I found carrot seed packets for gourmet-like carrots and so I bought three varieties (Heirloom Scarlet Nantes, Dragon and Festive Color Mix).

The second week in April on a beautiful sunny day, I sowed my carrots. It was sunny, but it was REALLY cold! Carrots need soil that is soft and smooth. I was determined to successfully grow these beautiful carrots so I mixed topsoil and potting soil to the area where I sowed the seeds. I didn’t use any compost or garden soil because I wanted the planting area to be extra light and fluffy which carrots need. I dug a small trench about 8 inches deep and 3 inches wide, backfilled the area with the mixture leaving about 1/4 inch from the top and then sowed the seeds. I really didn’t want to do a lot of thinning later, so I patiently tried to plant one seed every 2 inches, but carrot seeds are extremely small, so this was hard. I then covered the seeds with a layer of extra smooth soil and firmly packed down the soil. I watered the area very well. Carrots need to be watered throughout the growing season, but especially while they are germinating. The soil needs to be constantly moist. They are EXTREMELY slow to germinate so I will try to be patient.

Five weeks later this is what they look like before and after weeding. I did a pretty good job sowing the seeds afterall. I didn’t have to do a lot of thinning them out (leaving about 1 inch around each carrot). Of course, weeding is important because you don’t want the weeds to take the nutrients and water away from the carrots that I dutifully watered every day. And the weeds will choke out the carrots and impede their growth. Hopefully they won’t taste like dirt!