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How to grow Carrots in the UK

Sweet crunchy carrots. Short round ones grow well in pots.

• DifficultyA bit more care
• WhereBeds or Pots
• Grows to30cm
• Spacing5cm
• Time to first pickabout 12 weeks

When to sow, plant and harvest carrots

Dates are for central England. Sow about two weeks later in the north and Scotland, and up to two weeks earlier in the south and south west. Get the dates for your postcode.

Sowing it outdoors

1. Pull out any weeds and rake the top of your bed until it's crumbly, like cake crumbs
2. Make a little line in the soil (1cm deep) with your finger or a stick
3. Drop the seeds in, about 5cm apart in the row, with rows 20cm apart
4. Gently cover them with soil and pat it down
5. Water with a watering can that has a sprinkler head
6. Push in a label so you remember what's there

Top tips for growing carrots

• Mix the tiny seeds with sand so they're easier to sprinkle thinly.
• Try 'Paris Market' - round carrots that grow in shallow pots.

Looking after carrots

• Week 4: Thin them out so each carrot has 5cm of space - you can eat the tiny ones!
• Week 4: Carrot fly smells carrots from far away - cover with fine mesh or grow in a tall pot

Soil and feeding

Light, crumbly soil with no stones. NO fresh manure - it makes carrots and parsnips split into funny forked shapes! Use soil that was manured last year, or plain compost.

Pests and problems

• Carrot fly: lays eggs by the roots - the maggots tunnel into carrots
• Slugs & snails: munch seedlings overnight, worst in wet weather

• Cover with fine insect mesh (like 'Enviromesh') on hoops - the holes are too small for flies and butterflies
• Bury or weigh down the edges so nothing can crawl underneath
• No mesh? A 60cm-high barrier of clear plastic round the bed works too - carrot flies fly low!

Harvesting and eating carrots

Brush the soil away from the top - if it's as wide as your thumb, pull it up!

How to eat them: Wash and crunch raw, or roast with honey.

Storing carrots

Keeps 2-3 weeks.

• Twist off the green tops
• Keep in the fridge, or leave them in the ground and dig as you need them

Slice, blanch them (dip in boiling water for 3 minutes, then straight into icy water - ask a grown-up to help), dry and bag. Keeps 12 months.

Good varieties of carrots

• Nantes 2: Sweet, crunchy, reliable.
• Flyaway: Carrot flies don't like it as much.
• Chantenay Red Cored: Short and stumpy - good in clay or pots.
• Paris Market: Round like golf balls - perfect for pots and stony soil.
• Purple Haze: Purple outside, orange inside!

Companion planting

Grows well with

• Onions: the onion smell hides carrots from carrot fly
• Leeks: the leek smell hides carrots from carrot fly
• Spring onions: the onion smell hides carrots from carrot fly
• Chives: the chive smell hides carrots from carrot fly
• Garlic: the garlic smell hides carrots from carrot fly
• Radishes: radishes come up fast and mark the slow carrot rows
• Peas: they grow at different heights and depths
• French marigolds: the smell helps hide carrots from carrot fly
• Calendula (pot marigold): brings in helpful insects
• Sage: its strong smell may hide carrots from carrot fly
• Rosemary: its strong smell may hide carrots from carrot fly

Saving your own carrots seed

It only makes seed in its second summer.

1. This plant flowers in its second year, so leave one or two strong plants in the ground over winter
2. Next summer they grow tall and flower - bees love them
3. Cut the seed heads when they're brown and dry, and shake out the seeds
4. Cabbage-family plants cross with each other, so seed may not come true

Things to build for carrots

• Hoop tunnel cover:

Where to buy carrots seeds

Thompson & Morgan · Suttons · Amazon

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Carrots questions

When should I sow carrots in the UK?

In the UK, sow carrots outdoors from early April to mid July. These dates suit central England; sow about two weeks later in the north and Scotland and up to two weeks earlier in the mild south and south west.

When can I pick carrots?

Carrots is ready from early July to mid November. Brush the soil away from the top - if it's as wide as your thumb, pull it up!

How long do carrots take to grow?

Roughly 12 weeks from sowing or planting until the first harvest.

Are carrots easy to grow?

Carrots are rated 'a bit more care' for beginners, and can be grown in the ground or a raised bed or in pots and containers.