How do I grow carrots?

Carrots are easy in the right soil and difficult in the wrong one. They need depth and no obstructions, so heavy or stony ground gives forked stunted roots regardless of anything else you do.

What you'll need

• Carrot seed
• Deep stone-free soil or a deep container
• Fine insect mesh (optional)
• Sand (optional)

Step by step

1. Sow directly where they will grow.Carrots have a single taproot and do not transplant. Anything that disturbs the root gives a forked or stunted carrot.
2. Prepare deep, stone-free, fine soil.Remove stones and break up clods. On heavy or stony ground, use a deep container or a raised bed with sieved compost instead.
3. Do not add fresh manure.It causes forking and splitting. Carrots follow a manured crop rather than being manured themselves — they are the classic second-year rotation crop.
4. Sow thinly in shallow drills and cover lightly.About 1cm deep. Sowing thinly is important because thinning later releases the smell that attracts carrot fly.
5. Cover with fine insect mesh immediately.Carrot fly is the main pest and the mesh must be in place from sowing and sealed at the edges. It is far more effective than anything else.
6. Keep the soil evenly moist during germination.Carrots germinate slowly and unevenly, sometimes taking three weeks. Letting the surface dry out at that stage is a common cause of poor rows.
7. Thin in the evening and remove the thinnings.The smell of crushed foliage attracts carrot fly. Thinning at dusk and taking the thinnings away reduces the risk considerably.
8. Harvest when the shoulders are the size you want.Scrape soil away to check. Water before pulling in dry conditions or the roots snap.

Tips

• Short or round varieties are much more reliable in heavy or shallow soil than long maincrop types.
• Carrot fly flies low, so a mesh barrier around 60cm high can work as an alternative to full covering.
• Sowing with sand mixed into the seed helps distribute it thinly and reduces the need to thin at all.

Common mistakes

• Adding fresh manure before sowing — It causes forked and split roots. Carrots want soil that was manured for a previous crop, not freshly enriched ground.
• Sowing thickly and thinning heavily — Thinning releases the scent that attracts carrot fly. Sowing thinly avoids most of the thinning and most of the risk.
• Trying to transplant carrot seedlings — Disturbing the taproot gives forked or stunted roots. They must be sown where they will grow.

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