Carrots store beautifully through the winter, and are a staple crop for our family. It doesn’t take much to grow a beautiful crop of carrots. Though, I will admit it took me a little while to get the hang of it. This is not a planting guide, but there are a few key things that will help you grow a great crop of carrots.
- You must plant at the right time. Carrots very much dislike germinating when it is extremely hot out. Carrots will grow beautifully throughout the summer, but they definitely don’t enjoy getting started in 90+ degree heat. That being said, I do succession sow our carrots through roughly mid-summer saving the later plantings for our storage carrots.
- Carrot seeds must be kept moist when germinating. DO NOT let them dry out. Your is to keep the soil from drying out and forming a crust over the top. I give mine a quick watering in the morning and evening every day until their sweet little tops pop out of the soil.
- Plant the right variety of carrot for your type of soil. If your ground is more hard and rocky, consider planting a Chantenay or Oxheart type carrot. These still size up well without growing as long.
- You really do need to thin your carrots seedlings to have larger carrots for storage. For years I thought I could avoid thinning out my carrots and still have a great crop. This simply is not true. That being said, you can strategically do this so you can enjoy eating the smaller thinned out carrots.
- Carrots are sweetest when harvest in cool weather. Our storage carrots stay in the ground as long as possible. This allows them to experience light frosts before harvesting them. If you live in a milder climate, you can leave them in the ground all winter and dig them up as needed for a meal. My climate is too cold for that, so I harvest mine before winter each season.
So what are my favorite carrot varieties?
Mokum – a delectable sweet slender carrot. I sell these spring to summer and they are always delicious whether baby or full sized. They have quickly become a reliable staple in our garden. 36 days baby; 54 days full size carrots.
Bolero – a fantastic storage carrot that’s a sweet, uniform, Nantes type carrot that I have grown for years. 75 days
Sugarsnax 54 – this long slender Imperator type carrot is incredibly sweet and actually store quick well when mature. They can be trickier to dig as they grow quick long, but they are worth the effort! One summer every carrot of this variety was well over a foot long. 68 days
Shin Kuroda – kurodas were the first carrots I ever had success with and I have grown them ever since. Blunt, sweet, shorter carrots size up quickly and in my experience tolerate crowding better than other varieties. 58 days full size
Red Cored Chantenay – wide shoulders and a tapered root make this shorter carrot perfect for those heavier soils. Sweet carroty flavor is great for freezing, canning and cold storage. 65 days
Here’s a bunch of other varieties I have grown and loved through the years…
Some of my favorites I still grow: Romance, Napoli, Negovia, Candysnax, Giants of Colmar, Kuroda Improved, Rodelika, and New Kuroda. I also really enjoy Dragon, Yaya, Oxheart, Kyoto Red, Yellowstone, Cosmic Purple, and Danvers 126.
I love planting my carrots in blocks. This is true whether my garden beds are 4 feet across or 2 feet across. I usually plant rows of carrots 6-8 inches apart. Generally I end up with a 4′ x 8′ block of carrots. Here is a graphic of what that looks like.
I plant my initial row of carrots quite densely at least a few seeds every inch or so. That way, I can insure I have good germination. The denser planting of carrots will also help the small seedling push through the top layer of soil better. I begin to thin them out when they are large enough for snacking on. Maybe a 1/2 inch or so across. If you accidentally dump a bunch of seed in one spot, you will need to thin some right away.
I continue thinning out my carrots as needed for fresh eating. Through this process they naturally develop enough space to keep growing. I aim for their final spacing to be between 1-2 inches apart. So much for this not being a carrot growing guide.
How do I store all these lovely carrots I’ve grown?
Storing carrots long term truly is easier than making a pie. Especially if you don’t find pie easy to make.
Once you’ve harvested your carrots, trim off the greens. I do this while I’m harvesting so I can leave the greens in the garden to compost down over winter. The carrots fit better in my harvest bag, and the green no longer are taking moisture from my carrot. This part is important. The longer they sit with greens attached the less crisp your carrot will be.
If you do leave them on too long, fill your clean sink with very cold water and submerge the carrots. Leave them until they feel nice and firm again.
Next, I rinse any excess soil off of them. They don’t need to be “clean” but you don’t want a bunch of mud on them either. If they are very wet I allow them to air dry or alternatively dry them with a towel. Then, simply place them in a Ziploc bag, I like the slider tops best, and put them in your fridge.
And there you go, carrots stored for winter!
So where do I buy my seed you ask?
My favorite seed companies are Johnny Seeds, High Mowing Organic Seeds, Territorial Seed Company, Seed Savers, and Baker Creek. There are loads of great seed companies out there but I rarely find I need to search else where.
Johnny Seeds tends to be the first place I check. They have larger size packs at a better price; these can last you more than one year which is nice. Though, you must remember to store your seeds well if you go that route. I like to store my extra seeds in craft totes in our basement. My second choices are usually Territorial and High Mowing. Though I have regularly purchased seeds from all of these sources and many others through the years.
