DIY Network

Types, Planting Strategies Types, Planting Strategies From "Fresh from the Garden" episode DFFG-119

Fresh, homegrown carrots -- yum!

Ranking just after onions and potatoes on the list of favorite root vegetables, carrots boast a crunch and flavor just about everyone enjoys. And not only are they loaded with nutrition and vitamins, they're great to grow. Here, learn how you can produce a delicious, plentiful crop of carrots with just a little effort and care!

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	Deep, sandy loam soil (free of stones) ensures your growing carrots will thrive!
	Be sure to test your soil before adding amendments ....
	Compost and wood ash are great soil amendments for growing carrots.
	Sow seeds by hand, about a half dozen at a time, planting one to two seeds 1/2-inch apart in the soil.

Materials:

Sand
Soil
Soil conditioner
Compost
Wood ash
Lime
Coffee grounds
Seed tape
Carrot seeds
Radish seeds
Pine mulch
Garden hose
Misting nozzle
Burlap
Floating row cover
Floral shears
Grass clippings
Garden fork
Soft brush
Bird screening
Electronic rodent repellent

• Carrots are a good spring crop but they're even better for fall planting. The flavor of fall carrots improves as the weather cools. Experts say warm days, cool nights and a medium soil temperature are the best conditions for growing great tasting carrots. Before you decide which types of carrots to plant, you have to determine what kind of soil you have.

• For carrots to develop long, straight roots, they require deep, sandy loam soil that is free of stones. If your soil is made of mostly of clay, you might want to plant a short, stubby carrot variety.

• If you have bad soil for growing carrots, there's any easy way to grow long straight carrots! Prepare a raised bed for planting your carrots. Be sure the soil is well drained and has been deeply worked. Next, fill the bed with a soil mixture of half sand and half soil conditioner.

• You should add plenty of compost and wood ash to the soil. Wood ash contains soluble potassium which will help grow solid, sweet carrots. If your soil tends to be acidic, you can also add lime to the soil. Work the wood ash and other soil amendments into the top 6 inches of the soil where the feeder roots will thrive. Just be sure to test you soil before you add any amendments.

• Carrots are cool-weather vegetables so if you are going to plant in the spring time you should start sowing about two weeks before the last expected frosts in your area. Now there are many different methods gardeners use to plant carrots -- the method you choose depends on how you want your carrots to grow.

• Carrots seeds are some of the smallest and finest garden seeds and it is very difficult to space them. Gardeners have taken some unusual steps to help mark the placement of carrots. Some have mixed carrot seed with coffee grounds and even sand to help spread them. There are even seed tapes that will hold the tiny seeds in place in rows. The best way to mark your carrot rows is by mixing carrot and radish seeds together. The quick-germinating radishes pop up and mark your planting.

• To sow the seeds individually, you take the seeds in your hand, about a half dozen at a time, and then you roll them between your thumb and forefinger planting one to two seeds 1/2-inch apart in the soil. Once the seeds are sown, you should gently pat them into the ground or you can sprinkle a 1/4-inch of fine soil to cover the bed. When planting seeds, try mixing them with dry coffee grounds to help with spacing.
  
  
• Another method you can use to distribute your seeds is to broadcast them. To broadcast sow carrot seed, you sprinkle or spread the seeds across the area you are planting. Seeds fall randomly and do not develop in rows. This method takes only a few seconds to do but you will have to spend more time thinning the seedling as they grow in.

• Be sure to cover the seeds with a fine garden soil. Never step on the carrot seed bed -- this will compact the seeds and keep them from germinating. After all the seeds are planted, you water them a fine mist and then add a light layer of pine mulch and watered lightly one more time.

• Carrots will germinate well when the soil temperature is about 75 degrees Fahrenheit -- the colder the soil temperature, the longer the germination period. It will take about 7 to 21 days for the seeds to germinate.