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Re: Info in growing carrots from seed?
In article <3k491g$bko@netnews.upenn.edu>, swirsky@umis.upenn.edu (Ted Swirsky) writes:
>
> My daughter likes carrots and insisted we buy some seeds. Are carrots
> difficult to grow? Any special requirements besides deep, loosened soil?
>
> We are in South Jersey. Thanks!
Carrots are very easy to grow.... easiest in sandy or peaty soils, because
the roots brush penetrate the soil easily and "grow straight", and the
soil brushes off easily for harvest. If you've got a heavy, clay-ey
soil, you can either grow little round carrots (these are special
cultivars), or you can dig a pit, fill it with sand and compost
mixture and grow in that.
Look around and you'll probably see several cultivars of carrots: why
not try several kinds? Some I particularly like are:
Nantes Coreless, a classic "big carrot", like from the store
Bolero, with a cylindrical root and good flavor
Planet, a baby carrot, one of the ball shaped ones for heavy soil,
but excellent flavor
Little Finger, a small carrot, of the "gourmet baby carrot" persuasion.
Carrots do take a while to germinate, and sometimes carry a seedcoat
virus that wreaks havoc on the crop. To help both problems, soak
carrot seed in milk for 24 hours before planting (use a shallow
dish, like a saucer, and any milk... skim or whole. The milk
proteins inactivate the virus). Plant the presoaked seed in
moist soil, and keep the seeds moist until they germinate, about
2-3 weeks in cooler temperatures. Cover the seeds in the row
with a couple of layers of gunny sack if you're concerned with
soil drying out... remove it when the plants sprout. Don't forget
to thin the rows of young carrots, since most of us plant the seeds
much too closely together. An inch or so apart is the spacing I
aim for when I plant carrot seeds, but I usually seem to wind up
with 2-3 carrots per inch... and you've got to (whining sound!)
pull the extras so that the remainder can develop properly.
Mixing the seed with sand when you're planting it can help get the
seeds a bit more spread out initially.
Kay Klier klier@cobra.uni.edu