Carrots: The Secret Is Loose Soil
1 min read By Екипът на Seeds
How to sow carrots without endless thinning, and why the soil matters more than the variety.
Soil
Carrots want deep, loose, sandy soil without stones. In heavy clay soil the roots fork and become misshapen. Do not feed with fresh manure — it also causes forked roots.
Sowing
Sow directly from March to July, at a depth of 1 cm, in rows 25 cm apart. The seeds germinate slowly — up to three weeks — and the soil must be kept constantly moist. Covering with a board or horticultural fleece until germination helps.
- Mix the seeds with fine sand for more even sowing.
- Sow a few radish seeds in the row — they come up quickly and mark the row.
Thinning
Thin twice: at 2–3 leaves to 2–3 cm, and a month later to 5–6 cm. Do it in the evening and firm the soil afterwards — the smell attracts the carrot fly.
Harvest and storage
Early varieties are harvested after 60–70 days, late ones after 100–120. For winter, store in sand, in a cool cellar, without the leaves.
Photo: Evan-Amos, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
