Carrots are very nutritious. Carrots are famous for their high content of beta carotene. There are also a good source of potassium and contain calcium pectates, which can lower blood cholesterol.
This cute, round, golf ball sized Carrots (Daucus carota) are great fun to grow. It is popular cool-season, root vegetables to grow in home gardens.
Carrots can germinate in a week with a soil temperature at 75 degree F ( 24 degree C). The other key to good carrot germination is moisture. Carrot seeds won’t germinate in dry soil.
Sowing carrot seed is tricky because it is so small. If you mix the small seeds with sand, that will make it easier to distribute them evenly.
The right spacing depends on the fertility of the soil, the type of carrot and the size of product you want. A wider spacing results in large roots.
Prompt weeding and thinning are the key to growing good carrots. The initial thinning is done when the seedlings are about 2” tall and should leave the plant about an inch apart. Second thinning and weeding should be 2 to 4 weeks later. It is important to remove all of the uprooted plants from the area after thinning, as the smell of damaged foliage can attract the Carrot Rust Fly.
You thin on cool cloudy days, or on late evening and water afterward to reduce the smell of Carrot.
Carrots need a steady and even supply of moisture for good growth.
Too little water will result in excessively hairy roots or woody roots. Too much water may cause the roots to split, encourage too much top growth or result in poorly flavored roots.
In loose soil, you can harvest carrots by pulling them from the ground by their tops, but if the tops break, loosen the soil first with a garden fork.
The deficiency of boron or manganese may cause the center of the carrots to turn black.
Carrots need full sun for best production, though they may do okay in part aside. They also like a fairly warm soil.
