Step 1

Preparing the area

It's very important to ensure you place the carrots in a sunny location and provided with well-drained soil. 

Add organic fertiliser such as well-rotted manure. Use a rake to spread it on the vegetable bed. Use shovel to dig and turn the ground to mix it with the fertiliser. Leave for a couple of days before planting the seeds. 

Step 2

Sowing

Sow carrots between April and July, placing seeds at a depth of 13mm deep, with rows about 15cm apart to allow plenty of growing room. Sow thinly to avoid clumping.

Make a small trough on the surface of the soil by drawing a pencil through the compost, and sow as thinly as possible. When seedlings begin to appear, pinch out plants too closely together so that each carrot is between 5cm and 7.5cm apart. 

Carrots won’t need watering unless there is a severe drought. In this case, water every 10 to 14 days.

Step 3

Caring and harvesting

Throughout the season, whether you’re growing in the veggie patch or cultivating short rooted carrots in containers and grow bags, hand weed to keep invasive plants to a minimum.

It’s especially important to avoid crushing foliage as the smell that’s released will attract carrot fly.

About 12 weeks after sowing, you can begin to harvest, ensuring that you pull carrots early so you don’t compromise taste for size.