Carrots, the vegetable everyone loves to grow yet few have much success growing carrots. Carrot fly can be a real problem, carrots really are hard to please and soil conditions have to be perfect.

However in this guide I am going to tell you how I grow carrots successfully and generally have little or no problems growing them.

Soil Preparation

Carrots grow best in soil that is deep, stone free and fertile, it will be difficult (or impossible) to grow a decent crop of carrots if you are growing them in clay or soil that is extremely heavy.

The bed should be dug in autumn adding a small amount of leaf mould if required. You should not add compost or manure to the soil as this makes carrots split.

Sowing and Planting

Carrot seeds are very fine so when sowing it is a good idea to mix the seeds with some fine sand. Carrots can be sown outdoors between April and June. You should sow the seeds thinly half an inch deep in rows that are 6 inches apart, carrots are not big plants so can be planted close to each other.

Looking After the Plants

Once the seedlings are large enough to handle they should be thinned to two inches apart. It is vital that you try and disturb the plants as little as possible, carrot fly can smell carrot tops and once they have been bruised they will come and eat your carrots.

After that just general maintenance is required, watering when dry and weeding weekly.

Harvesting

You can begin harvesting carrots from July right up until late October or even early November. Lift the carrots with a folk being careful not to damage the roots or bruise the leaves as carrot fly can still be a problem at this stage.