Get Your Carrots Started

Spring is here and it is time to start thinking about your summer gardening. About two weeks before your last frost, and every three weeks thereafter, is when you should plant your carrot seeds.

Breaking ground now on your garden area will give you the best start possible. Loosen the soil to about one foot deep. Mix in some mature compost or toss in what is left of your worm farm. Carrots make great use of vermicompost.

Sow seeds about two inches apart to avoid the need for thinning later and wasting good carrots. Cover the seeds with about a quarter inch of soil. Space your rows about ten inches apart.

• To avoid interaction with parasitic bacterium, plant your carrots far from grapes and fruit or nut trees. Use row covers to protect carrots from rust flies and weevils.

• To give your carrots the best start, water the soil for two weeks after sowing. Cover the soil with a board or blanket for the first week. Remove the cover as soon as the first seeds sprout.

• To protect your carrots, consider growing radishes alongside them. The radishes will shelter your carrots and suppress weeds.

• To keep the shoulders of your carrots from turning green, keep them covered with mulch.

Although taste improves the longer carrots spend in the soil, don't leave them out too long. Whatever wildlife you have nearby will sniff out the ripe vegetables and serve themselves. Your last crop of carrots should be pulled before your first freeze for quality. To preserve your bumper crop of carrots, remove the greens to prevent moisture loss, rinse them and then store them in the refrigerator for several months or a cold root cellar for even longer. When considering your storage plan, don't forget that carrots can be canned, pickled, dried or frozen.

If you want to save some money on seeds for future carrot crops, you should know that carrots are biennial. That means they won't flower and make seeds until they've been around for two years. The good news is that you only need one or two carrots to garner enough seeds for several crops. To get carrots to seed leave the greens on while keeping them in cold storage through the winter. Replant them in early spring. During the growing season, seed clusters will form. Allow them to ripened and brown and then place them in a paper bag. Give them a week of drying indoors, in the bag, and then crush the seed clusters. Pick the largest seeds and store them in a cool, dry place for up to three years.