By Kathee Mierzejewski
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Image by color line If you are wondering how to grow carrots, you should know they grow best in cool temperatures like those that occur in early spring and late fall. The night temperature should be dropping to about 55 degrees and the daytime temperatures should be averaging 75 degrees for optimum growth. They will grow in small gardens and even flower beds, and can accept a little bit of shade as well.
Tips on how to grow carrots
When you grow carrots soil surfaces should be cleared of trash, rocks and large pieces of bark. Finer pieces of plant material can be mixed down into the soil for enrichment.
You should start out with soil that will help your carrots grow. When you grow carrots, soil should be a sandy loam. Make sure it is well drained. Heavy soils cause the carrots to mature slower and the roots will end up unattractive and rough. Remember that when you grow carrots, soil should never be rocky because it leads to poor quality roots.
Till or dig up the area where carrots will be planted. Make sure the soil is tilled up to soften and aerate the ground to make it easier for to grow carrots long and straight. Fertilize the soil with one cup of 10-20-10 for every 10 feet of row you plant. You can use a rake to mix the soil and fertilizer.
Planting carrots
Plant your carrots in rows that are one to two feet apart is the best way how to grow carrots. Seeds should be planted about a ½ inch deep and 1 - 2 inches apart.
When growing carrots in the garden, you will wait for your carrot plants to start to show. When the plants are four inches high, you can thin the plants to two inches apart. You may find that some of the carrots are actually large enough to eat. You can thin the carrots continuously to four inches apart.
When growing carrots in the garden, make sure to plant, per person, five to ten feet of row to have enough carrots for table use. You will get about one pound of carrots in a one foot row.
You want to keep your carrots free of weeds when growing carrots in the garden. This is never more so than when they are small. The weeds will take nutrients away from the carrots. This will cause poor carrot development.
When do carrots grow?
They grow continuously after you plant them. They also don't take too long to mature. You can start the first crop in mid spring after threat of frost has passed and continue to plant new seeds every 2 weeks for continuous harvest through the fall.
How do you harvest carrots?
Harvesting of the carrots can begin when they are finger size. However, you can allow them to stay in the soil until winter if you mulch the garden well.
To check the size of your carrots, gently remove some dirt from the top of the root and check the size of the root. To harvest, gently lift the carrot from the soil.
Pure carrot juice in an eight ounce serving can provide up to 6% percent of your daily recommended intake level of calcium. It is very important to receive a healthy level of calcium in your daily diet. Bones and teeth are dependent on calcium for growth and formation, especially the skeletal structure and development of children. Calcium absorption should also be accompanied by vitamin D, which helps aid your body's intake of the mineral. Like potassium, calcium is important for neurotransmission, and muscle movement and contraction. Carrots juiced with broccoli can provide an excellent vegetable calcium drink. For a calcium shake, you may also choose to juice your carrots and then blend it with yogurt for a carrot juice smoothie, which makes for a healthy breakfast shake, or evening dessert.