Cheaper by the thousands
Carrots are one of the cheapest crops to grow from seed with roughly 2000 seeds per packet, writes Colleen Simpson.
Simple, sweet and quick to grow, carrots are a must in the home vege patch and easier to grow than you might think.
When to sow
In warm regions, sow carrots any time between July and March; in cooler areas, between August and February. Sow seed every 3-4 weeks for a continuous harvest.
Growing instructions
Carrots should be sown from seed directly where you want them to grow. They have tiny seed, which is almost impossible to space accurately, so mix your seed with fine sand to better space the crop or thin out seedlings. In the garden, sow seed in rows 2cm deep and 10-15cm apart, and cover lightly with soil. In pots, scatter seed sparingly or dot 1-2cm apart and thin out once germinated. Keep seeds moist and watch for germination in about 10 days. Good soil is key if you want long, straight roots. If a baby carrot hits a rock or some other obstacle, it will bifurcate or fork. Avoid feeding them too often as it can lead to excessive leaf growth at the expense of the roots. A soil to which too fresh compost has recently been applied will also cause carrots to fork.
In warm regions, sow carrots any time between July and March; in cooler areas, between August and February.
Varieties
There are more than 30 carrot varieties in shades of orange, red, yellow and purple. ‘‘Majestic Red’’ (Yates) topped NZ Gardener’s carrot trial, with a heavy yield of uniform, slightly tapering 20-25cm roots, good flavour and good holding ability in the soil. If you want to go for something other than the traditional orange, try the 1000-year-old heirloom variety ‘‘Purple Dragon’’ (Kings Seeds, sold by Egmont Seeds as ‘‘Purple Haze’’), which has purple roots and an orange core; ‘‘White Belgian’’, a doppelganger for a parsnip with a mild flavour and crispy texture; or golden ‘‘Solar Yellow’’ (Kings Seeds). ‘‘Mini Sweet’’ (Kings Seeds)’ is ideal for pots as it produces 10cm carrots with sweet, tender flesh.
Pests
Carrot fly is a serious problem – the adults will lay their eggs near the roots and the larvae, then tunnel through the edible root to feed. Mound up the soil around the base of the carrots as they grow to make it harder for the larvae to reach the carrot root and stop the shoulder from turning green. A mesh crop cover, available from Lincoln University’s BHU Future Farming Centre, will also protect them.
Harvesting
Carrots take around 80 days to mature. Pull them up when the roots reach about 1cm across. Scratch down in the soil to check the tops and pull gently on the stalks. If they’re packed in tightly, you may need to dig down and loosen them from the soil.