How to Grow Carrots

Thinking about adding carrots to your garden? Great choice! Carrots are an excellent crop to fill empty squares in your square-foot garden. They can be planted throughout your garden, making the most of every bit of space you have. In this post, we’ll share five essential tips on how to grow carrots successfully.

Carrots are one of our family’s favorite garden vegetables. We love the flavor of homegrown carrots—there’s nothing quite like pulling up a fresh carrot, rinsing it with the hose, and eating it right in the garden.

Article Outline:

1. When and where to plant carrots in the garden
2. Plant your favorite seed type and variety of carrots
3. Germination and thinning: the two keys to successful carrots
4. Caring for carrots as they grow
5. Carrot harvesting and storage tips

1. When and where to plant carrots in the garden

When to Plant Carrots

Start your carrot seeds outdoors 3 to 5 weeks before the last spring frost. Many locations also allow for an additional planting in mid to late summer. Since timing can vary based on where you live, it’s a good idea to check local planting guides to find the best planting windows for your area.

Plant carrot seeds when soil temperatures are between 45°F and 85°F (7°C to 29°C). Carrots taste best when they mature in cool soil under 70°F (21°C), so timing your planting can help you harvest the sweetest carrots.

For those in the low desert of Arizona, you can plant carrots from September 15 through March.

Where to Plant Carrots

Choose an area with well-drained soil free from stones and fresh manure. Rake and smooth the bed carefully before planting to give your carrots the best chance to grow straight and long. If you don’t have the perfect garden bed, don’t worry—carrots grow well in containers and grow bags too.

Practice crop rotation by not planting carrots in the same spot each year to reduce the risk of soil-borne diseases. Celery is a good companion plant for carrots. See my growing guide to learn how to grow celery.

2. Plant your favorite seed type and variety of carrots

Do not purchase carrot transplants. Carrot roots do not like to be transplanted. Learn more about crops with sensitive roots in this guide.

Sow carrot seeds directly in the garden. Thinly sow your carrot seeds about ¼ inch deep (0.6 centimeters). There are various ways to plant the seeds–regular seeds, seed tape, and pelleted seeds.

• Regular Seeds: These are the standard tiny carrot seeds. While they work just fine, they can be a bit challenging to handle due to their small size.
• Seed Tape: If you’re looking for an easier way to space your seeds, seed tape might be your new best friend. The seeds are embedded in a biodegradable tape at the correct spacing intervals. This makes planting quicker and reduces the amount of thinning you’ll need to do later on.
• Pelleted Seeds: These seeds are coated to make them larger and easier to handle. The coating doesn’t affect the seed’s ability to germinate; it just makes planting less fiddly. With pelleted seeds, you can place them more precisely, which leads to consistent spacing and less thinning down the road.

Seed vendors offer carrot colors like purple, white, red, yellow, and orange. Home gardeners can also choose from many shapes and sizes. 

• Danvers varieties are sweet, crisp, full-flavored, and easy for the home gardener to grow. Best for eating fresh and shorter storage.
• Imperator varieties store well.
• Chantenay varieties are good all-purpose carrots that can handle heavy soils.
• Nantes types are best for fresh eating, often considered the sweetest and most tender type of carrots.

3. Germination and thinning: the two keys to successful carrots

Carrot Germination Tips:

Starting carrot seeds can be a bit of a challenge. After planting your seeds, keeping the soil moist for the first 10 days is very important. This might mean watering twice a day, especially if the weather is sunny and hot, like in Arizona—a hose with a shower attachment works perfectly for gentle watering. If the seeds dry out during this time, they won’t germinate, so consistency is key!

Consider covering the planted seeds with burlap in hot weather to help retain moisture. Remember to remove the burlap as soon as you see sprouts; leaving it on too long might cause you to pull out the delicate seedlings accidentally. Another option is to place a board over the seeds to trap moisture. Again, remove it once the seeds germinate so the seedlings can get the sunlight they need.

If keeping track of burlap or boards sounds like a hassle, use a thin layer of straw mulch instead. This method keeps the soil moist without worrying about removing coverings at the perfect time. Plus, it allows sunlight to reach the seedlings right away. Once your seeds have sprouted, continue with regular watering to help them grow quickly and steadily.

The Importance of Thinning Carrots:

Thinning your carrot seedlings might seem like an extra chore, but it’s crucial if you want big, healthy carrots instead of a bunch of thin, tiny ones.

• Two weeks after your plants germinate, take some time to thin out any carrots that are touching each other.
• Then, two weeks later, thin them again so they’re spaced about 2 to 3 inches apart (5 to 7.5 centimeters).

Skipping this step means your carrots will compete for space and nutrients, leaving you with a less impressive harvest. So, give your carrots the room they need to reach their full size!

4. Caring for Carrots as They Grow

Now that your carrots are sprouting, it’s time to give them the care they need to grow big and flavorful.

Deep Watering: Carrots develop long taproots, so deep watering is essential to encourage those roots to grow downward. Aim to moisten the soil to a depth of 6-12″ (15-30 cm). Deep watering helps the roots seek moisture deep in the soil, leading to straighter and longer carrots. Avoid shallow, frequent watering, as this can cause the roots to stay near the surface and become stunted. Sudden changes in moisture can cause the roots to crack or split. Learn more about how to water gardens in this guide.

Weeding: Keep the area around your carrots free of weeds. Weeds compete with your carrots for nutrients, water, and sunlight.

Mulching: Applying a layer of mulch, such as straw or shredded leaves, around your carrots helps retain soil moisture, suppress weeds, and regulate soil temperature. A thin layer—about 1″(2.5 cm)—is sufficient. Don’t cover the carrot tops; they need sunlight to grow properly.

Fertilizing: Carrots aren’t heavy feeders but appreciate nutrient-rich soil. If your soil is lacking, consider side-dressing with compost midway through the growing season. Avoid fertilizers high in nitrogen, as they promote leafy growth over root development.

Hilling: If you notice the tops of your carrots starting to protrude above the soil, gently mound some soil or mulch over them. Exposed carrot shoulders can turn green and bitter due to sun exposure.

5. Carrot harvesting and storage tips

If you aren’t sure if carrots are ready to harvest, remove soil from around the tops of the carrot roots. Harvest carrots when tops are about 1″ (2.5 cm) in diameter. The top may begin to “pop” out of the soil. 

Harvest the largest carrots first to give the smaller carrots room to develop. Fully developed carrots will have a bit of blunting at the end of the tip and have good flavor.  

Leave carrots in the ground until ready to eat, but harvest carrots before the summer heat if you live in very hot places like Arizona. (The heat can turn them bitter.)

• A tip to remember — the shorter variety carrots are best eaten fresh, while longer carrots are more suited to storing.
• Carrots store best if you clip the foliage, leaving about 1 inch of stem. Leaving the greens on the carrots draws moisture out of them, causing limp carrots. 
• Let washed carrots air dry before storing them in the refrigerator. Store them in a sealed ziplock-style bag, and they will last for months.
• When ready to use harvested carrots, scrub, but don’t peel them! Many vitamins are in the skin or close to the surface.

Freeze-drying carrots is a simple way to preserve extra harvests. Learn more about freeze-drying in this blog post.

Get my favorite recipe for garden fresh vegetable stock in this post.

If this post about how to grow carrots was helpful, please share it.