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Carrots grow best in a deep, light loam, in sun or partial shade.
There are three main groups of carrots: short-rooted, intermediate-rooted, and long-rooted.
Short rooted varieties are best used for an early or forced crop,
Intermediate varieties for main crop, and long rooted for exhibition purposes.
Week 16; Because one can generally offer some type of protection, preparations for exhibition carrots can take place a little sooner than maincrop carrots that are sown directly into the ground.
Fill containers with river sand then bore tapered holes in it with a crowbar (or similar) resulting in a 100mm (4") hole at its top.
Space the holes 200-300mm (8"-12") apart.
Fill the holes with sieved potting compost, pressing it down firmly with a stick.
Thoroughly soak the container with water
(No further watering should be required other than that that falls as rain)
Week 17; Sow a pinch of seed in each hole, when the seedlings appear, remove the weaker ones, leaving the strongest one to grow on.
Cover the container with a sheet of glass until germination.
Week 19; Rake in a balanced fertiliser into the bed at the rate of 100gms (4oz) per sq metre.
Week 21; In un-manured ground, sow seeds very thinly in 25mm (1") deep drills 300mm (12") apart.
Germination will take 7-10 days
Earlier sowings can be made if ground conditions allow, and cloches are placed over the rows.
n.b . Successional sowings of early varieties at fortnightly intervals will prolong the season
Before sowing seed, add some chlorophos or similar soil insecticide along the seed drills to deter carrot fly damage.
In manured ground insert blade of spade into the bed and push it backwards & forwards to form a 'V' shaped trench.
Trickle in a proprietary potting compost into the trench and sow the seed as previously described.
This method is particularly beneficial in dry seasons.
i.e. the manure retains sufficient moisture in the ground between rain showers to keep the carrots going.
This method also reduces the chances of stunted or forked growth.
Week 23; Thin crowded seedlings, when large enough to handle, to 25mm (1") apart, then thin out again a couple of weeks later to 50mm (2") apart.
To reduce the risk of attracting egg-laying carrot flies when thinning, do the job at dusk.
After thinning, water along rows to settle soil around remaining seedlings.
Cover the bed with fleece,
Before covering add Nitrate of Soda, or Sulphate of Ammonia at a rate of 30gm (1 oz) per sq m.
note; The gap in the cover has been staged to show carrots under and would not happen in practice!
Week 40; (Previous year) prepare the soil by digging deeply and leave it rough through the winter for frost to break it down.
Some would say don't dig in manure as this may cause the roots to fork, and where possible, grow carrots on a plot that was well manured the previous season.
Generally speaking I would agree with this statement, but I have found that I can get good results, if not better, by adding manure at this time of the year(see above)
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