Seed to Seed Guide : carrots
Did you know that the first carrots ever cultivated were probably purple or white rather then orange? It’s true! Wild carrots, the precursor to the sweet and earthy root vegetable we know today are native to Europe and Southwest Asia, were probably domesticated in Iran and were most likely cultivated for their leaves and seeds, as the roots of wild carrots are woody and tough, unlike our common orange varieties today.
Nowadays carrots come in nearly every color of the rainbow, from a nearly black to red, yellow, purple, white, and classic orange, and their uses are almost as numerous. Eat them raw with a nice dip, roast them to serve alongside a main course, slice them to toss into a salad or on top of homemade pizza, glaze them with roasting meats or chop them up to add to to a soup or stew.
While we mostly eat the sweet and vitamin packed root today, carrot leaves are still fully edible, nutritious, and completely delicious. Grind them into pesto and chimichurri, toss them into a pot with other vegetable scraps to make homemade veggie stock, or blanch them to toss with a light soy-and-sesame sauce for a tasty side dish.
Seed Starting:
Carrot seedlings are delicate and easily damaged, rather than transplanting from indoors, it’s best to direct seed them as soon as the ground has thawed enough to be workable and the threat of a long, hard frost has passed; i.e. nighttime temperatures consistently at or above freezing. (32℉/ 0℃)
Prepare the garden bed in a sunny spot in your garden. Carrots are root vegetables that need deep, obstruction free soil, so make sure the soil is free of rocks, roots, and other things that could stunt or impair healthy development. After ensuring all obstacles are removed, add compost and/or manure to the garden bed, mix thoroughly, and rake into a smooth, even surface.
Mark out rows 16-24 inches apart depending upon variety and scatter your seeds into shallow trenches ¼ of an inch deep (A rake lightly dragged across the surface of the soil will make even and uniform trenches in the soft soil)
Optional! Some gardeners sow radish seeds in with carrots. The radishes will germinate more quickly than the carrots, and their distinct leaves will mark the rows to prevent you from accidentally weeding up all your hard work. They will also reach full size more quickly then the carrots, so you can pull them out once ready to eat to make room for your maturing carrots.
Cover the seedings with the surrounding soil (a back of a garden rake works well for this) and water the seeds in. Use a gentle spray or mist if you can, you don’t want to wash away all those carefully planted seeds!
The seedlings will begin sprouting within 7-21 days after planting. Once the largest of the seedlings are 3-4 inches tall, thin the carrots out so that the remaining plants are 2-4 inches apart.
Ongoing Care:
Carrots need moist soil in order to grow optimally. You should be watering your carrot bed deeply at least once a week if it is not raining, and more often as the days get hotter and drier as the dog days of summer approach.
Carrot leaves are thin and frond-like, so you will need to weed them regularly to avoid them being choked out by weeds. Use a hand hoe, rake, or your hands to weed while the carrots are still small, once they are large enough not to be crushed or buried by the weight of mulch on top of them, we recommend spreading 3-4” of mulch; either straw, grass clippings, or dead leaves in order to minimize time spent weeding.
When your carrots have reached a usable size, they are ready to harvest. Harvest them after a good rain or water them deeply beforehand, this will ensure good root hydration and hopefully prevent breakage.
When harvesting carrots, loosen the soil around the root with either a garden fork or your hands. Grasp the root firmly at the base and pull upward to unearth the carrot. If the root is stubborn, loosen the soil around the carrot more to prevent breaking. Remove the greens for fresh eating or to compost and clean the roots thoroughly before placing in the refrigerator for storage. Do not store your homegrown carrots for more then a few days, refrigerator air will dry them out and reduce their palatability, and long stays in cold air can cause your carrots to sprout.
Seed Saving:
Saving Carrot seeds can be a bit tricky, not because it’s very complicated, but because it requires at least 800 feet of separation between varieties to ensure pure seed stock. Carrots are a biennial crop, meaning they only flower and set seed every two years. This means that to get seed you have to overwinter your onions in the ground to be able to collect the seeds next summer.
As the weather gets colder, stop watering your carrots. This will allow them to dry out and cure a bit so they won’t rot during the long winter.
Before the first frost sets in, mulch your carrots to ensure they won’t be killed by the drop in temperature. 2 inches is the minimum, but in Minnesota, 5-6 inches would probably be better for insulation. Use straw, dead leaves, grass clippings, old newspapers… whatever you have on hand
Next spring, when the threat of frost has passed, remove the old mulch and lay down new straw or black plastic to prevent weed competition. Resume watering.
Your carrots should flower in late spring or early summer. Once the flowers are pollinated and the seeds have developed fully to a tannish brown color, gather the seed heads and let dry completely in a well ventilated area for 5-14 days.
To separate the seeds from the remaining vegetation, you can rub the dry seed heads in between your hands or against a fine mesh screen like a panel of clean window mesh. Separate as much of the vegetation from the seeds as you can before placing the seeds into an envelope labeled with the variety and date collected. Place the envelope in a waterproof container, like a mason jar and store in a cool, dry place. In ideal conditions carrot seeds can remain viable for up to 6 years.
Check out these sources from the University of Minnesota and The Seed Savers Exchange for more information:
https://extension.umn.edu/vegetables/growing-carrots-and-parsnips and
https://www.seedsavers.org/grow-carrot
For starting with seeds and saving seeds check out our Youtube channel under growing resources for 2023!
What kinds of Carrots are you growing? Share with us on our Instagram or Facebook at Como Community Seed Library!