Few vegetables are as commonly liked as carrots. They provide a great complement to many meals and can be cooked in many delicious ways. However, the more you can eat them raw the better, since cooking (especially in water) leaches out the essential nutrients.
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Carrot Nutrients
They provide huge amounts of vitamin A, as well as vitamins C, K, beta carotene, calcium and iron. Vision, skin tone, cell reproduction, and bone growth benefit from the nutrients in carrots.
Growing Conditions for Carrots
Originally from the Mediterranean region, carrots are a good choice for growing here in our valley, with its similar climate. You’ll have your best luck in spring and fall, since they like cooler weather.
They can even survive a little frost, which makes them something we can get started in the garden by mid-April.
Carrots' Soil Demands
Carrots love and arguably need a finer soil with good depth to match whatever variety you might be growing.
If finer soil is out of the question, choose a carrot variety that has a short to medium length. Amend the soil at least to the depth of your carrot variety, using lots of sand. It is well worth the investment to develop a carrot patch. You don't have to work up the soil in the entire garden to the carrot’s high standards…just its own patch!
Seeds and Planting Your Carrots
When starting from seed, get them covered up by compost or sawdust to help the soil resist crusting over. If the soil does crust, the carrots will have a harder time pushing through and you might find yourself a little disappointed at the results. Follow the instructions for planting. Typically, here's what carrots need:
Planting depth: ½ inch
Spacing: 1 inch apart
Row width: at least 12 inches apart
Weekly water: about 1 inch per week (Place a tuna can amidst your rows and watch the water level each time you water, whether with watering can or sprinkler.)
Weed regularly and thin the plants as they come up, leaving each survivor room to grow.
Fertilizer
If you fertilize, avoid fertilizers with too much nitrogen. Don’t use manure (it does weird things to carrot shape and texture). An organic compost tea or a 0-10-10 or 5-15-15 fertilizer will work. Of course, don’t use any lawn fertilizers with weed killers!
If you're looking to get some perfect baby carrots, be sure to actually get baby carrot seeds. You can't just pick big carrots before they're ripe. Baby though they might be, you won't get the same flavor.
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Recommended Carrot Varieties
Here are some varieties you might like to try:
Baby Spike—grows the fastest
Little Finger—takes longer to grow, reputed to have best flavor
Minicor
Short 'n Sweet
Carrots for Kiddies
Carrots are easy and fun to grow and a small plot can make for a nice crop. They make a fun project for kids to manage, with detailed but simple growing demands.
Also, here’s a fun carrot trick for the kids!
1. Cut off the top 2” of a carrot.
2. Hollow out about 1 ½ inch of the bottom part. Leave the crown.
3. If there is any green on the carrot, cut it off.
4. Now hang the carrot upside down in a sunny window and watch it grow a new green top (upside down), hanging basket style.
(Just so there's no confusion, it's not going to start sprouting a new carrot out the top.)
