How to Grow Sweet Carrots

Carrots harvested from a garden are far more tasty than those found in the store. Growing your own sweet tasting carrots is easy as long as you follow a few simple steps. Timing is everything so be sure to plant your carrots so the last few weeks of growth occur when it is cool. Also, try not to harvest the carrots until they are full grown and mature.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Carrot seeds
• Garden shovel

1. Select a sweet carrot by type. Flavorful carrots include Nantes, Chantenay, Paris Market types and Belgium White.

2. Work through the soil until the depth is at least as deep as the length of a mature carrot. Use organic matter, not fresh manure, or your carrots will develop hairy roots.

3. Soak the carrot seeds before planting. Sprinkle them in a thin layer on top of the prepared soil.

4. Cover the seeds with a 1/4 inch of compost so the seeds can easily grow through when sprouting. If you use soil, it can crust over and inhibit plant growth.

5. Place a layer of burlap over the seeds just until they germinate, about 7 to 14 days. This will keep the seeds moist.

6. Move the carrots away from each other at least 2 inches. This gives the carrots plenty of room to grow.

Tips & Warnings

• Grow your sweet carrots in a deep stone-free fine soil, preferably where there is lots of sunshine.
• Best results are achieved if the soil is well worked at least the length of a fully grown carrot.
• Carrots contain sugars and bitter terpenoids. The sugars develop after the terpenoids. If the carrots are harvested to early, the sugars do not have the necessary time to sweeten the carrots.

Resources

• Carrot: Watch Your Garden Grow