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Carrots grow best in light freedraining soil that has not been manured recently. Manured soil is likely to give you a misshapen crop, with the carrots ‘fanging’ (splitting into two). April is an ideal time to sow maincrop carrots so prepare the soil for direct sowing by forking it over to break it up and then thoroughly raking to create a fine seedbed, free from stones and large clods of soil.
Sow the seed
Water the ground before sowing if
46 Garden Answers
Growing your own carrots from seed allows you to choose from dozens of varieties. For something different, go for a multicoloured crop of carrots; red, purple and yellow varieties are available.
it is very dry so that you sow into moist soil. Sow directly into the soil in rows, at a depth of 13mm (½in). Sow thinly to reduce the amount of thinning out after germination because this will reduce the risk of carrot fly. Germination should take place in about two weeks.
Cover them up
Fleece is an essential aid when it comes to growing carrots, because it is the only viable product that will give protection from carrot fly. Cover your seeds with fleece as
soon as you have sown the seed and leave it until harvesting. This will also warm the soil and encourage good germination.
Thinning out
When the seedlings are big enough to handle easily, remove the fleece, water the rows – this will help prevent seedlings from wilting – and begin thinning out. Ideally each remaining seedling should be spaced 5cm (2in) apart. Remove unwanted seedlings carefully, firming the soil as you go, because exposing the roots of your www.gardeningmags.co.uk
FRUIT & VEG
carrots? THE FACTS
The cost of growing two three metre long rows of carrots. Packet of seeds 99p Fleece £6 Total price £6.99 Total yield 12kg (26lb) approx. Price per kg (2.2lb)
58p
HOME GROWN
58p per kg plants will attract carrot fly as will bruising the foliage which releases a smell that attracts female carrot flies. Put the fleece back as soon as you’ve finished.
Get rid of competition
After thinning out, remove any weeds while there is some space between them. Take them out by hand because a hoe is likely to do a lot of accidental damage unless you are very careful! Keeping your carrots weed free early on will help them get established. Once in full leaf carrot foliage will shade out www.gardeningmags.co.uk
most weeds so your crop should be able to get on with growing unrestricted.
Organic approach
Carrots are one of the easiest crops to grow ‘organically’ because they need no fertilising and there are no sprays available for use against carrot fly. They are also not a hungry crop so there is no need to apply fertilisers either.
Lift your crop
When your carrots are ready depends on how big you want them.
An excellent source of vitamin A (the vitamin that improves your vision!) carrots are also a good source of dietary fibre, antioxidants, minerals and vitamin C.
SAVE 42p A KILO Young carrots can be harvested from late summer if you want ‘baby’ ones, while sturdier mature carrots will be ready from late autumn onwards. If you want to lift your whole crop in one go, remove the leaves, wash off the worst of the soil and store them in trays lined with moist sand and keep them in a dark frost-free place. Or you could just dig them up when you want them, but you should bear in mind that harvesting will be a problem when the ground is frozen.
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