Carrot color is rich in nutrition. Orange is the most familiar carrot color, but there are many colorful carrots: yellow, red, purple, and white. All are healthy eating. All are easy additions to the home garden. The first domesticated carrots—cultivated in Afghanistan more than 1,100 years ago–were white. Breeding over the past 900 years has…
Carrots
Carrots Seed Starting Tips
Carrots are a cool-season crop; they are best grown in spring and fall. Grow carrots and other root crops in light-textured soil free of pebbles and stones. This will ensure roots do not split or become malformed. Plant carrots for winter harvest and storage in late spring or early summer when you plant tomatoes; they…
Glazed Carrots Simply Made
PrintGlazed CarrotsAuthor Steve Albert Don’t miss out on this simple carrot recipe. It’s delicious! InstructionsPeel the carrots and cut them into rounds or sticks. Be sure the pieces are about the same size so that they cook evenly. (If you use baby carrots, don’t bother to peel them.)Put the carrots in a saucepan or heavy…
How to Harvest and Store Carrots
Harvest carrots when they develop their color and the tops are 1 inch in diameter or smaller. Carrots can be lifted as soon as they are a usable size. Carrots are ready for harvest 60 to 90 days after sowing depending upon the variety; they will continue to grow and enlarge if you leave them…
Grow Carrots Anytime of the Year in Five Steps
Carrots are easy to grow; just give them loose, rich soil free of clods and stones and a soil temperature anywhere between 45° and 85°F. That means you can grow carrots just about any time of the year in raised beds or containers—even in winter with the protection of a plastic tunnel. Short and finger-size…
How to Pre-Sprout Carrot Seeds
Carrots and other carrot family crops such as parsley and parsnips can be slow to germinate. They require consistently moist soil and sometimes two weeks or more for germination. Dry or windy weather can mean slow or no germination for carrots. Carrots, parsnips, and parsley take 14 to 21 days to germinate; that means you…
Growing Carrots for Flavor
Choose the carrots you want to grow by the carrot flavor you most enjoy. There are three common carrot flavor descriptors: sugary, pine-parsley, and woody. Carrot flavor is genetically determined—some carrots will simply be sweeter than others. Growing carrots when days are warm and nights cool and growing carrots in loose, organic soil can enhance…
Carrot and Parsnip Growing Problems: Troubleshooting
Carrots and parsnips grow best in loose, sandy, humus-rich soil. Size does not make for more flavorful carrots and parsnips. For best flavor, lift both crops before they reach maximum size. Carrots and parsnips can be sown thickly; later thin both from 2 to 2½ inches apart or more depending upon the variety. Young thinned…
How to Grow Carrots
Sow carrots in the garden 2 to 3 weeks before the last average frost date in spring. Succession crops can be planted every 2 to 3 weeks until about 12 weeks before the date of the average first frost in autumn. Where winters are mild grow carrots in autumn and winter. Carrots require from 50…
Carrots: Kitchen Basics
Tiny carrots steamed whole in butter; young carrots glazed in honey syrup; half-grown carrots served fresh from the garden: carrots need not be taken for granted. Long an ingredient in stocks, soups, and stews or combined with other vegetables, carrots can stand alone as a flavorful treat. The key to serving the best, tasty carrots…