How To Grow Carrots and Parsnips
If you want flavour, then there is nothing
like eating home-grown carrots fresh from the garden. Simply sow
directly outside in shallow drills if you have a veg plot, or into
planters or container in a patio or balcony.
Soil
For the best results sowing outside you should
have fine, crumbly soil that has not been freshly manured and
without too many stones. Otherwise the single tap root may split
into many smaller roots as soon as it hits a large object or fresh
manure.
Dig the soil and remove perennial weed roots and
all stones and other debris. Add some Soil Improver to improve the
structure of the soil plus a sprinkling of a general plant food.
Rake to a smooth friable surface.
If your soil is stoney, prepare a long V-shaped
trench at least 20cm deep and fill this with sieved soil mixed with
about 50% Top Soil.
Selecting the varieties to buy
For stoney soil try Rondo or Parmex. For early
crops choose Early Nantes, Amsterdam Forcing or Mignon. To tempt
kids try Sugarsnax, Parmex or Bolero. For maincrop sow Autumn King,
Red Intermediate or Chantenay Red Cored.
Sowing seed
You can’t transplant seedlings of root vegetables
successfully, so the seed needs to be sown where they are going to
mature. When the soil is warm enough (March or April) take out a
shallow drill 1cm deep. After sowing the seeds cover with fine soil
and water in.
Sow carrots thinly in short rows every three weeks
from March until the end of June. Regular sowing will give you a
continuous supply of vegetables through summer and autumn.
Thinning
Carrots need about 4cm gap between each seedling,
but don’t compost the larger ones as they make a delicious addition
to salads.
Care
Keep your carrot crop watered in dry weather. To
prevent the carrot fly laying eggs that will eventually tunnel into
the roots, cover completely with Enviromesh or similar material or
erect a wind break around your plants at least 60cm tall.
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