Trouble-Shooting Carrot Problems - How To Grow Great Carrots
It seems that getting them to size up properly is the main issue, many of you are getting small stubby carrots, or wee spindly ones. Here are some of the key things you need to know to grow really great tasting, long, straight, lovely carrots.
All of these carrots in the pics are from my gardens… If I can do this, you can too, I promise!
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| The white stuff in the soil here is perlite. I dump my planter pots and hanging baskets into the garden each fall when I do my garden clean up. I do not go out of my way to add perlite to the beds, it just ends up in the garden beds, wherever I dump the planters. Why do I do this? Read further down about introducing new soil life to your garden. |
Soil Prep - Great soil is the key to everything….
Loose and friable soil - For long, straight carrot, your soil needs to be well-draining, loose and crumbly to a depth of at least 10 inches. You should be able to easily to push your fingers into the soil without meeting much resistance, with no rocks and hard clumps.
Here on the island, aka ‘the rock, we need to build our soil up in order to grow great root crops as we cannot dig down. When making your raised or mounded beds, make sure that you have a soil depth of least 10 to 12 inches. If you have existing beds that are quite shallow, you will need to grow the miniature types instead. Nothing wrong with that, they are sweet and yummy! (carrot types are explained further down the post).
The answer to amazing loose and friable soil is to feed your soil with organic matter once or twice a year. Chemical fertilisers will just leach out of the soil during our rainy season but feeding the soil with organic matter will feed the soil-life (organisms, fungi, bacteria, worms…) for better soil. This soil-life breaks down that matter to give you lovely, loose, nutrient rich soil for healthy thriving plants. I feed my garden in fall, after harvest and garden clean up, but some prefer to add a bit in fall and then add more in spring.
If you are having a hard time growing great crops of any kind, I highly recommend adding even more organic matter to your beds, copious amounts thereof. This will really increase the soil-life and the activity in your soil, which in turn improves the health and production of your plants. Organic matter is anything that breaks down naturally to feed your soil, like leaves, leaf mould, grass clippings, kitchen scraps, but the easiest to apply in large amounts is compost or manure.
In addition, if you find that things are not growing as you like, before changing anything else or adding other amendments, I would first try adding organic matter of a different sort, or from a different source than you usually use.
For example.. I generally add an inch or two of composted chicken manure on top of the beds annually. Chicken manure is a great, well balanced, relatively inexpensive, weed-free, soil conditioner. Last fall, we decided to add 2 to 3 inches of really great, local, fish compost instead. This introduces new life to the soil, different micro-organisms, fungi, and bacteria. I could also have gone with a different manure, like steer or mushroom, chicken manure from a different supplier, or my own home made compost.
Introducing new conditioners to your soil … as Martha would say, it’s a good thing.
Organic Amendments
Carrots prefer a soil that is neutral to slightly alkaline, though will grow just fine if it is a bit off in either direction, alkaline or acidic. We tend to have slightly acidic soil here on the island which is pretty much perfect for growing most anything and everything, including carrots.
It used to be common practice to lime the garden beds annually, and some gardeners still do this. I am not a big fan of mucking about with pH, as going too far either way can really wreak havoc on your garden and be very difficult to fix.
However, if you are having a really tough time with your carrots (beets and asparagus) and feel that you have good soil with everything else is growing really nicely, then adding a bit dolomitic lime to raise the pH level a titch is a fine idea. It also adds calcium and magnesium to the soil, both of which are great for growing amazing tomatoes and peppers, though not potatoes! Follow the directions on the bag for the correct amount to apply.
Phosphorous for root veggies - Root veggies like carrots, beets, celeriac, radishes, etc… benefit from less nitrogen and more phosphorous and potassium, the second and last numbers on any fertiliser or compost bag (N-P-K). Nitrogen, the first number, gives you stronger above ground growth, phosphorous is for more flowering and stronger roots, and the last number, potassium, provides your plant with overall good health.
For root crops like beets and carrots, adding bonemeal (phosphorous) and kelp meal (potassium) will boost root growth and overall health.
Alternately, you can use an organic fertiliser with a ratio of 1-2-2 (or multiples thereof). Most of these fertilisers are called ‘bloom boosters’ but they also benefit food crops, so don’t worry about the name but concentrate on those numbers instead. Gaia Green has an organic product called Power Bloom which is a 2-8-4 that you can add to your root crop beds. They also have an all purpose 4-4-4 if you prefer to just feed the soil in general and do not feel that you have too much nitrogen (tall greens).
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| Imperator carrots - the long carrots that you most often see in the grocery stores. I believe these ones were ‘King Midas’. |
Sunshine - For big, sweet tasting carrots, you want a minimum of 6 to 8 hours of sunshine per day.
In our zone 7 garden area, the Pacific North West, sow seeds anywhere from early April through till the 7th of July. No later or they will not have time to size up before winter comes.
In colder areas, sow seeds 3 to 4 weeks before last frost date and three months before first frost date in your area.
As a general guideline that works anywhere, you want to sow them 30 to 90 days before you want to begin harvesting.
Warmer soil will give you faster germination and longer, bigger, better tasting carrots. Sowing when temps are around 10°C (50°F) is ideal.
I sow carrots at least 3 times a year... a winter crop in January, a spring crop in May, and a summer crop in early July.
To grow in rows… make shallow trenches 1/4 inch deep that are 6 to 8 inches apart. Sow the seeds 1/2 inch apart and cover the seeds with soil. I use a small Winged Weeder hoe to make the furrows and then use it again to gently pull the soil back on top of them. Tamp the soil down with the back of a rake to firm the soil around the seeds or the seeds may end up floating around when you water.
To grow in blocks… Rake the soil surface to soften the soil down 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep. Scatter the seeds onto the soil’s surface. Try to scatter them so that they are an inch or two apart from each other. After sowing lightly sift soil over top of the seeds to cover and tamp down with the back of a rake, as above.
Carrots are also sold in seed tapes that properly space the seeds apart, and also in pelleted form which make it easier for you to sow them the right distance apart.
Thinning seeds… Once your carrots tops are an inch tall, you will likely need to do some thinning out. Your carrots will be small, will not have room to size up if they are too close together. Thin them out so they are at least 2 inches apart from each other. If your soil is nice and loose, you can gently pull out the seedlings, otherwise use a pair of scissors and snip them off at soil level.
If you feel that you will not forget about them, you can leave them be for 40-ish days, and then start harvesting the smaller ones that are close together. Use these thinnings for fresh eating, in salads… or feed them to your pups ; )
Watering
When you first sow your carrot seeds, you will be watering them daily, if not twice daily. Carrots (and parsnips) take anywhere from 5 to 21 days to germinate and must be kept moist until you see the greens popping through the soil. If they dry out at any time during the germination process, the seeds will die; they will not recover if you start watering them again.
Sow the seeds, water thoroughly with a watering wand until the soil is damp well below the seeds.
Covering them with burlap sacks helps the soil stay damp longer. Water the sacks down really well after sowing, and daily thereafter. I lift the sacks to make sure that the water is indeed going through and soaking the bed.
After a week, begin to check for signs of germination, remove the sacks when you see some greens popping through. The rest will soon follow.
Sowing in spring, while the temps are cool and the gardens do not dry out as quickly, will make this job less onerous.
If you are planting in summer time when you soil is so dry that water beads up on top, water the furrows before you sow, then water again as above.
If you prefer to scatter sow your seeds to grow them in blocks, water the entire area down well first, then sow your seeds, sift soil over top to cover, water as above.
After the carrot have germinated and you can see the wee green tops, slow down the watering to once or twice a week. They need one to two inches per week to thrive.
Over-watering may result in small carrots, or hairy carrots that do not taste great. Carrots like sunny beds, loose soil, and a good, deep watering once a week.
I use weeping hoses in my beds to deep soak the beds about every 5 to 7 days. You can do the same with drip tube systems.
Deep, slow watering less often will always give you better crops than hand watering with a wand or can. If you have to do your watering by hand, it is going to take you a really long time to get that water down deep enough to make nice, big, long carrots. Use many cans of water per row. Shallow watering will stress out the plants, resulting in small carrots that are less sweet and may be woody.
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| Carrot Rust Fly damage - pic by Alan Chomica |
Carrot Rust Fly
The only real problem we tend to face with carrots is the dreaded Carrot Rust Fly. This fly will lay its eggs at the base of the carrot, the larvae will soon emerge from the eggs to begin feeding on your carrots, leaving ugly black trails and holes throughout the roots. These flies will be present from spring till frost so can affect your crop at any time during the growing season.
To organically prevent this damage, there are a few things that you can do…
As it is a fly, you cannot spray for it or pick it off. The best and most effective way to prevent damage from these guys is to net your crops. A bug mesh works best because it breathes, water goes through it, sunshine goes through it, but the mesh is so tight that the flies cannot get in to lay their eggs. You can also use a lightweight white garden fleece but it tends to hold in the heat so is less desirable for summertime growing.
Whatever type of cover you use, make sure to pin it down well on the sides. Just laying the fleece or mesh over top of the bed will not work, the flies will crawl underneath if they find any sort of access.
Companion planting - plant lots of diversity in your food garden, tons of flowers and herbs to deter the flies and attract beneficial insects to help to control them.
Crop rotation - Practice good crop rotation to help prevent issues from arising or building up in the soil.
Storage
Leave them in the garden. That is the very best way to store them if you live here on the west coast. Harvest as needed, leave the rest in the garden to harvest throughout fall and winter. Try to use them all up before spring the following year or they will begin to get hairy, then woody, and then flower to make seeds.
Types of Carrots
There are basically 5 types of carrots. They are divided up into categories by their shape and size.
Nantes - Nantes carrots were first mentioned in seed catalogues in 1885 as a carrot variety with nearly perfect cylindrical roots and smooth, almost red, skin that is mild and sweet in flavor.
They are usually the easiest carrots for home gardeners to grow, always producing sweet, crisp, cylindrical roots, about 6 inches long, with blunt tips. Nantes carrots perform well even in heavy, rocky soils where other carrot types twist and fork. Starica, Bolero, Harlequin.
Imperator - The long, skinny, tapered carrots that you see in grocery stores. You need nice, loose, friable soil to grow these carrots, and they can easily grow 11 to 12 inches long. Atomic Red, King Midas.
Chantenay - Before Nantes were developed, Chantenay was the best carrot for heavy or rocky soil. They are short and wide, shaped like a soil dibber, about 6 to 7 inches long. A great choice for those gardening in containers. The Chantenay is one of my most favourite carrots to grow as they are super reliable, need no peeling, are always sweet and yummy, great for fresh eating or roasting.
Danvers - These carrots are 6 to 8 inches long and skinny, taper to a point at the ends. They originate from Massachusetts and grow well in all types of soil. This is the other carrot that you will often see at the grocers.
Miniatures - These guys are the wee little guys… short or round mini carrots. They only reach 3 to 4 inches long, are typically served whole with the tops attached. Perfect for growing in containers or shallow garden beds. Varieties include Babette, Romeo, Paris Market.
Other carrot information worthy of note…
Winter Sowing - Carrot seeds can be sown in winter, basically just tossed into the garden in winter time, ready to harvest in early summer. You want them in the ground, ready to germinate as soon as the temps are right.
Here on the west coast, we want to toss them in at anytime during the winter months, ideally shortly after winter solstice. The ones in the picture above were sown on December 20th.
In cold weather climates, you want to sow after fall clean up but before the ground freezes or the snow comes, so ideally in late September/early October. You just don’t want to sow too early in fall so they germinate if you have a nice, long, warm autumn.
Winter Harvest - Different than above. These carrots are sown in summer to be eaten in winter, the ones above are sown in winter to be eaten in early summer.
Do not sow in the fall when temps are still warm so that they begin to germinate but do not have time to size up before winter comes. They will not take a break and then begin to size up again when the temperature rises. They will instead make hairy roots, then flower, go to seed. You need to sow 60 or more days before your first frost of the year. Here in our area, we never sow after the 7th of July.
To grow winter carrots for harvesting, sow during the first week of July. Carrots will be big, sweet, and yummy all the way through till spring. Spring sown carrots can also be left in the garden to be harvested as needed, used up by late March.
Containers -If you have poor or really heavy soil, carrots can easily be grown in pots. Just add some compost or manure to your potting soil for nutrients and they will grow really well.
Trench Amending - If you have really hard packed soil, dig a trench, fill the trench with sifted black earth and compost, sow your seeds into that trench for nice straight carrots
Nitrogen - If you are getting carrots that are all twisted up, you likely have too much nitrogen in your soil or have been using a lot of manure. Compost tends to be a better amendment for carrots than manure.
Flowering - If you have left your carrots in the garden in spring, you will soon find a flowering plant that looks a bit like Queen Anne’s Lace. That is the carrot flower. It is very pretty but will soon be covered in carrot seeds. Looks a lot like dill seed. To harvest them … cut and place into a paper bag… shake.
Quite honestly, carrots are one of the must grows in my garden annually. We eat a lot of carrots ourselves, either fresh or roasted, but mainly, I grow carrots for the dogs. Our pups love them. We have never yet had a dog who did not come running when we offer up carrots.
I grow all sorts, shapes, sizes, and colours, preferring the oranges and reds, but I sure do like a bit of purple mixed in, too.
We grow 300 to 600 carrots a year in 3 or more areas of the potager, sown at a different time of year …. spring, mid summer, and winter.
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