Carrots are relatively inexpensive in the shops so might not be top of your list when it comes to looking for ways to cut the food bill. However, buying from the shops ignores the fact that home-grown roots taste so sweet and juicy, that you have the choice of so many varieties of all shapes and many colours, and that if you so choose, your roots will be free from chemicals.
Carrot seed is relatively cheap if you go for an ‘oldie but goodie’ variety (in fact it’s often free with your favourite gardening magazine) and once sown needs little attention. True there are some pests that need to be tackled, but otherwise you should be harvesting your first delicious roots 12-16 weeks from sowing, depending on variety and how large you like them.
GROUND PREPARATION
All carrots grow best in a reasonably fertile and well-drained soil. The longer types also need a deep, stone-free soil if you are to avoid those entertaining, but less than easy to prepare forked roots. Of course, you will be aiming for long, straight, tapering roots, but if your soil is less than perfect don’t give up – you can simply make compost-filled holes to accommodate your carrots, or grow an equally tasty, but shorter-rooted variety.
It is important to choose soil which hasn’t been manured, and carrots often follow hungry, leafy crops such as brassicas in a crop rotation. Simply remove any weeds and if the soil needs a boost, scatter some general fertiliser over the surface and rake in lightly a week prior to sowing.
This story is from the June 2023 edition of Kitchen Garden.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 2023 edition of Kitchen Garden.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
DIGGING THE DIRT PARSNIP WARS
All's fair in love and war, as John Holloway recounts the friendly rivalry he shares with fellow allotmenteer Joe
FLAVOURSOME FRUIT GROWING IN CONTAINERS
Want to grow fruit in pots on your patio or in your backyard? Top tips and advice this month from fruit expert David Patch
ASPARAGUS TIPS
Asparagus can be expensive to buy in the shops, but given a little space and time, it’s easy to grow this gourmet treat in your own back garden. Here’s how...
THE CREATURE FEATURE Beauty and the thief
We all know how valuable bees are on the plot - without their pollinating power, our harvests would be pretty pathetic. This month, Jack Edmonds takes a look at some common April plot visitors, the mining bees, and the parasitic nomad bees out to spoil their fun...
Paying it forward
We meet Ross Pearson, a gardening writer and horticultural lecturer from Northumberland, who was inspired and helped by his grandfather and now passes on his experience to the next generation of gardeners
HARD TO BEET
Tony Flanagan offers a whistle-stop guide to growing this much-loved root and picks out some varieties you might like to try
FLOWERS TO feast on!
In this extract taken from A Floral Feast: A Guide to Growing and Cooking with Edible Flowers, Foliage, Herbs and Seeds, Carolyn Dunster focuses on three beautiful and popular annuals
HUW'S HEROES!
This month Huw Richards explains a method of organising your choice of crop varieties - with reliable stalwarts on the one side and those offering something more demanding on the other
Kitchen +Garden TOP PICKS
It's time to get growing and you'll need the very best products for sure-fire success this spring. Check out this selection of must-have products from some of our trusted partners, which should be on your shopping list this month
MIND THE GAP
Garden Organic's Anton Rosenfeld shows you how to plug the 'hungry gap' in spring and have ready supplies of home-grown food all year round