ROOTING FOR THE CARROT
This orange vegetable is easy to grow with varieties for a range of soils and seasons
IT’S the year of the carrot, according to international plant group Fleuroselect, which encourages gardeners to grow their own.
Carrots are an easy crop to cultivate, have a quick seed-to-harvest timeline and are delicious and nutritious whether eaten raw or cooked.
So if you’ve never attempted growing them before, here are some guidelines and varieties to try.
Carrots grown as far back as the 10th century in Persia were white and purple, and it was only in the 17th century that Dutch breeders created the familiar orange root. Today they come in many different shapes, sizes and colours.
Like potatoes, there are early and maincrop varieties, so if you want to extend your grow-and-harvest season, it makes sense to grow a combination of the two.
The ideal growing medium is a light sandy soil, and if you have this you can grow most types, including the long, slender Imperator varieties.
Stony soil can cause forking where the root splits in two or more – taste wise this doesn’t matter, but they won’t win any awards for appearance.
Heavy clay or recently manured soil can also cause forking but there are short-rooted varieties which are more suitable for a clay soil.
Early varieties can be sown under cloche in February and March, but I’d advise waiting until April for outdoor sowing when temperatures reach 10˚C and germination will be quicker.
You can keep succession sowing until July which will ensure regular crops for you.
The seed is pretty small and it’s difficult to sow thinly so you will probably need to thin out seedlings as they emerge to give each plant two or three inches of space. Sow shallowly about half an inch deep.
Carrot fly is the main pest for this crop. Be careful when weeding or thinning as crushed foliage releases a smell which attracts this insect.
Otherwise you can cover your crop with horticultural fleece, fine insect netting or a polythene tunnel which will hinder the flies from getting in and laying their eggs.
The cultivar ‘Flyaway’ has been specially bred for resistance to carrot fly and is a very tasty variety as well.
Herbs such as rosemary, sage and chives are all thought to be good companions as their strong scents confuse the flies!
There’s no other maintenance other than weeding and watering in dry periods, and about three months after sowing you’ll be ready for your first harvest!
Here’s my pick of the crop:
■ ‘Volcano’ is exclusive to Mr Fothergill’s and is resistant to breakage, splitting and disease (£3.05 for 350 seeds).
■ If you have light, sandy soil, try Fothergill’s ‘Malbec’, a red, long-rooted type, perfect for roasting with exceptional flavour (£3.05 for 350 seeds).
■ ‘Paris Market’ are bite-sized, almost perfectly round carrots. They are early maturing and due to their size, are ideal for growing in shallow or stony soil or a window box (£1.30 for 750 seeds), info@kingsseeds.com, call 01376 570 000.
■ Extend your growing season with
‘Autumn King’, a long-time favourite with gardeners. A maincrop with great colour and flavour, its large roots can be lifted from late summer through into winter, £2.29 for 1,500 seeds at unwins.co.uk.
■ ‘Eskimo’ is one of the most cold-tolerant varieties you can buy. This late maincrop has extremely good resistance to frost damage and will cope with winter weather down to minus 10˚C when grown on lighter soils. It also reduces the need to cover the crop in the late autumn period.
It can be lifted late in the season and stored, or overwintered on welldrained soils. Pay £1.65 for 400 seeds at the Irish web-based firm seedaholic.com.