PNW growing carrots

boffer 1/5/2012, 9:09 pm

The sun was out for a while today, so it was pleasant digging up some carrots for supper. And that got me wondering if anyone else grows enough carrots for the year. It couldn't be easier if you keep these things in mind:

You can start planting the last two weeks of March
Once in a while a planting doesn't germinate; I don't have a clue why. So I stagger plant to be safe; not for a staggered harvest.
I suggest having your planting done by May. My May planted carrots do not reach full size. I don't have a clue why.
Nobody's carrots grow as fast as the seed package suggests.
Carrots don't reach maturity; eat at any size.
Leave them in the box for as long as you want to. Some of the carrots I picked today were what I planted last year during carrot week. (around April 15)
I cover my carrots with plastic for the winter to keep them from drowning. They handle the occasional freezes we get just fine without mulch.
If you want to know how to grow big carrots, talk to Josh.

Why you might want to grow carrots, even though they are usually cheap.

They taste better.
It's one less product in your life that may have been tainted by Big Ag.
There's lots of fun shapes, sizes, and colors to try.
Don't be fooled into thinking that carrots have to be long. Many varieties can be grown in sixth inches of MM.

Here are a few shapes and sizes to consider:

PNW growing carrots Carrot11

And be sure to check out the world carrot museum!

littlejo 1/5/2012, 9:39 pm

I hope you don't mind me chiming in for your area! I like those tiny carrots, but I found out that (someone) took to cutting the big carrots down to small size, charging more than for the big carrots, and taking away the flavor!

The tiny (less than 2 in.) have great flavor for eating raw, rinse with hose in garden, they don't make it to the house. If you leave them in the ground, they will get about 4 in. but are still sweet.

When is carrot week this yr?

Jo

**camprn** 1/5/2012, 9:40 pm

Nice post! What a Face

This time of year I envy you your weather... I was lucky enough to have a minor thaw a week or so back and was able to extract a few shorties> Yummy

**RoOsTeR** 1/5/2012, 9:44 pm

Excellent information and love the carrot chart.
Thanks boffer!! Very Happy

boffer 1/5/2012, 9:46 pm

You're welcome, but are ya gonna answer the young lady's question? Razz

Oh wait, you don't have a clue what she's talking about!!!

LJ, give us a chance to discuss this! LOL

**camprn** 1/5/2012, 9:50 pm

ashort 1/5/2012, 10:45 pm

boffer wrote:You're welcome, but are ya gonna answer the young lady's question?

Oh wait, you don't have a clue what she's talking about!!!

LJ, give us a chance to discuss this! LOL

Sometimes its good to not be the king, eh boffer...

PNW growing carrots History-of-the-world-part-i

newstart 1/6/2012, 11:14 am

The kids want carrots. They have been looking at all the catologs and really want rainbow carrots as they say. So we will try to plant a few types to get a lot of different colors

**gwennifer** 1/6/2012, 12:53 pm

newstart, my kids had to have the rainbow carrots as well (okay, me too!). We found them in a pre-packed blend at Fred Meyer (Ed Hume Seeds), so we got five varieties in one package. According to Territorial Seed Company, there are approximately 650-750 carrot seeds per gram, so one package is plenty for us for a few years!

Having them mixed meant the harvest was more fun since we didn't know which color would come up when we pulled one. My grandma was here when we harvested and she thought they were pretty neat; said she'd never heard of such a thing. Shocked

She's been planting carrots for 50 years! So I just bought her a new package to slip in a card with some photos of her great-grandkids.

happycamper 1/7/2012, 5:44 am

I have seen those Rainbow carrot seed packets at the store and they look like they would be fun to grow. I have had horrible luck growing carrots. Fresh seed every year but I do not get good germination. I had 9 carrots from carrot week last year out of four squares planted. This year I will be covering them to help germination and planting in March as posted above and see if I have better luck. I can grow parsnips and they seem like they are big carrots, we will see what this year brings!

Sponsored content

PNW growing carrots

PNW growing carrots

Re: PNW growing carrots

Re: PNW growing carrots

Re: PNW growing carrots

Re: PNW growing carrots

Re: PNW growing carrots

Re: PNW growing carrots

Re: PNW growing carrots

Re: PNW growing carrots

Re: PNW growing carrots

Re: PNW growing carrots


	Hello Guest! Welcome to the official Square Foot Gardening Forum. There's lots to learn here by reading as a guest. However, if you become a member (it's free, ad free and spam-free) you'll have access to our large vermiculite databases, our seed exchange spreadsheets, Mel's Mix calculator, and many more members' pictures in the Gallery. Enjoy.