Carrots

[Rosyrain]

I have grown potted carrots a couple summers in a row and they always turn out very slim. Am I pulling them too early or are the big ones you find at the grocery store just mutated? The seed packets always say to wait until the leaves are about 6 inches long and that's what I do and they are always smaller. Any advice for bigger carrots?

 

[Edgeofparadise]

I have always planted carrots fairly "dense". Then I thin them for fresh eating throughout the summer. By the end of August here in northern MN I always have big carrots for canning or freezing. As for the leaves, by the end of August they are well over a 12 inches long.

 

[Kansas Terri]

When I grow carrots the roots slowly get larger the longer they are in the ground. The ones that I dig just before frost are LARGE!

 

[jlynn71]

I saw a video on YouTube of someone growing carrots in a 5 gallon bucket. They were all small and odd-shaped but it looks possible. Maybe this would be great for someone who has limited space?

 

[Kansas Terri]

I have always intended to try carrots in a pot, but I never got around to it. I usually just use a couple of carrots at a time, and growing them in a pot would be far more convenient that digging up 2 carrots every time I want to put carrots in a salad.

When I do grow carrots in the ground I put the seeds in a grid pattern with the seeds 2 inches apart. I can grow enough carrots for the summer in a spot that is just 2 feet by 2 feet, so as long at the pot was deep enough I think that carrots would do very well! Also, the soil in a pot should be loose enough for me to be able to just pull out the carrots that I intend to eat, which would be simpler than getting the shovel out every time I want a carrot or two!

Perhaps this is the year that I will get around to growing carrots in a pot: things are SO! busy in the spring time!

 

[headfullofbees]

Mine are through!
In a bottomless pot.

 

[annageckos]

I grow my carrots in the ground and pull them as needed, no need for a shovel. Different varieties grow to different sizes, so if you want big carrots make sure you picked the right kind. Loose soil also helps, maybe try adding sand. The first couple years I grew carrots I had them too close together and they seem to grow slower and stay smaller, so make sure to give them some room.

 

[jlynn71]

Mine are through!
In a bottomless pot.

What's a bottomless pot? It that like the pots that hang with the most in the bottom so they can drain well? This seems like a great solution, because I know root veggies need alot of drainage?

If I did put them in a pot (or large bucket) and drilled many holes, would adding sand to the soil perhaps help? I really want to try carrots, but I'm not sure how to grow them in pots and prevent them from rotting.

 

[Chuck]

When adding sand make sure you don;t have clay soils. Clay+sand=Brick

 

[headfullofbees]

I was given a number of food-grade pots, 30" dia, 30" tall.
I have cut out the bottom of them with a hacksaw, put it on cultivated soil, and topped it up with a mix of soil, compost and sand, so that it forms a kind of mini raised bed.

 

[Chuck]

I was given a number of food-grade pots, 30" dia, 30" tall.
I have cut out the bottom of them with a hacksaw, put it on cultivated soil, and topped it up with a mix of soil, compost and sand, so that it forms a kind of mini raised bed.

I grow potatoes in those same kind of pots but leave the bottom

 

[jlynn71]

When adding sand make sure you don;t have clay soils. Clay+sand=Brick

Well, that's definitely a good point I hadn't thought of. I have just heard so much about carrots and potatoes rotting if you don't know what you are doing. I have tried neither yet, but wow, I wish I knew what my grandfather knew. He grew everything in a little strip of land behind a townhouse. I hope I inherited his green thumb in this area, because I would really like to expand my garden.

 

[headfullofbees]

When adding sand make sure you don;t have clay soils. Clay+sand=Brick

Well, for me, it's as long as you don't add JUST sand.
Add a decent amount of compost too and you should be ok.

 

[Pat]

I have not grown carrots in years, I may try them this year, they will be going into the ground if I decide to plant them, I understand they need full sun, I am not sure they would get enough sun in the spot I use, there is a tree that may be blocking out light.

 

[Chuck]

I have not grown carrots in years, I may try them this year, they will be going into the ground if I decide to plant them, I understand they need full sun, I am not sure they would get enough sun in the spot I use, there is a tree that may be blocking out light.

Carrots need full sun especially in northern climates. If you live in the south it is already too late to plant them