vegetable · root

Carrot

Sweet baby carrots in about a month. Plant the seedlings straight and deep, keep them damp, and pull them young.

Carrot seedling
Seedling
Mature Carrot
Ready to pick
Thrives
15–21°C
Water
Medium
Difficulty
Intermediate
Ready in
28–42  days
Spacing
5cm apart
Containers
Yes

How to plant it

  • Handle the seedlings gently. That thin taproot is the carrot, and if you bend it going in you get a forked one.
  • Make a deep narrow hole, drop the root straight down so it hangs vertically, then firm the soil around it.
  • Space them 5cm apart, in rows about 20cm apart.
  • Keep the bed damp and clear of stones. Dry soil or an obstruction is what makes carrots fork and split.
  • These are for pulling young. From four weeks you will have sweet baby carrots. Leave them longer and they keep sizing up, but the best eating is early.