Monthly Tip

If you have a light fluffy soil, perhaps in a raised bed, you can grow those long beautiful carrots you see in the grocery store. However most of us have a heavy clay soil and it is best to grow the shorter varieties. Adding organic material such as compost rather than manure is good. The seeds are very tiny and mixing sand with them will help you not over-seed. Plant no more than 1/2 inch deep. Carrots are slow to germinate and could take as long as 3 weeks. Keep the soil moist until they're up. Thin to 2 or 3 inches apart. Plant every few weeks for a continuous crop. If you have limited space, try growing in among your ornamentals, their feathery tops can look quite pretty. They can also be grown in a container. Some common problems are twisted roots from planting too close together, forked or deformed roots from clods and rocks in the soil, hairy root from too much nitrogen and splitting from too much water.