-
Requirements to Grow Carrot
-
Carrots need a well-drained position
where they have at least half sun — preferably more. Long-shaped
varieties particularly require a deeply dug stone-free soil, ideally
well manure from a previous crop.
-
However, poor or previously unprepared
soil can be improved by digging in plenty of well-rotted compost and a
complete plant food within a week or two of sowing, providing it is
mixed evenly through the soil. To do this it should be raked in and
mixed with the surface soil first, and then forked over 2 or 3 times.
-
To overcome the problem of a stony soil,
I make a thorough mixture of soil, fertilizer and compost. The soil
comes from a spade-depth wedge-shaped trench which runs the length of
the rock. After thorough mixing it is then sifted back into the trench
through bird wire to remove stones, fibrous compost and other coarse
material. It needs to be heaped a few cm above the surrounding
soil-level to allow for settlement.
-
After firming the soil it is then gently
watered and allowed to settle for a couple of days before the seed is
sown. Use the same principle for planting in bucket-size nursery pots.
-
Planting time for Growing Carrot
-
In areas with cold winters sow from
August to March because carrots which mature when spring weather is
approaching tend to bolt to seed. In temperate areas varieties such as
All-The-Year-Round can be sown throughout the year but August and March
are the main sowing times. In tropical districts, sow from March (or
whenever the wet season finishes) until about August. .
-
Cultivation for Artichoke Jerusalem
-
Prepare the soil adding about half a cup
of garden lime or dolomite per sq. m unless the soil is naturally limey
or has been limed in the previous year. Distribute deeply and evenly
through the soil.
-
Carrots in their early stages are
difficult to weed by hand so prepare the soil, water it and allow to
stand for a week or two so the weeds that emerge can be destroyed by
surface scuffling on a hot day before planting takes place. For easy
weed control sow the carrots in a perfectly straight row made by
pressing the straight edge of a piece of timber into the soil to a
depth of 1 cm.
-
Germination is retarded when soil crusts
over the seed row so cover the lightly-sown furrow with either
vermiculite, shredded compost or in moist clay loams that do not dry
out rapidly, with coarse sand. Vermiculite or sand remain visible and
make weeding easier by clearly defining the sown row.
-
Vermiculite is very light and will blow
about or wash away so after nearly filling the furrow run forefinger
and thumb along either side of the row to pull in slight shoulder of
the soil on either side of the vermiculite strip. The latter will
remain just visible when the soil is patted down. Then water gently so
as not to dislodge the seed. Heavy watering causes clay soils to cake.
-
Some gardeners overcome the problem of
soil caking and crusting by sowing a radish seed with the carrots.
Radishes come up very rapidly and break the crusty surface soil and
allow the comparatively frail carrots through. Carrots and radishes are
good companion plants and one seems to help the other to grow.
-
Special problems
-
Most modern varieties are virus
resistant, so this once common disease is no longer a problem. Aphids
can cause a downward crimping distortion and slight yellowing of the
foliage but can be eliminated by spraying with Pyrethrum or Malathion.
Root rot may affect Western Red during humid autumn conditions but
Topweight, All-The-Year-Round, Progress and most of the varieties have
resistance to this problem. Carrot maggot, the larvae of the carrot fly
which may attack the roots of carrots, can be deterred by billing to
cover the tops of the roots or, if the problem is evident, by watering
with Carbaryl or Malathion.
Forking is often attributed to stony ground but fertilizers which have
not been mixed in evenly can also be the cause. Splitting may occur
when prolonged wet follows a fairly dry period.