Crunchy, Colorful Carrots

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In addition to the benefits of varied color and nutrition, most gardeners agree the best-tasting carrots are the ones you pull, wash and eat straight from the garden.

THE CARROT GROWER’S ART

If you want your garden to produce the best carrots you’ve ever eaten, don’t be so taken by unusual colors that you overlook a more important issue — matching your variety choice to the season and to the soil type in your garden. Cool soil temperatures bring out the best in any carrot’s flavor and texture, so the best strategy is to begin the spring planting season with a variety that matures quickly — before hot summer weather arrives — such as a variety from the Nantes group (see “Eat Fresh Carrots All Year”). Then sow a slower-growing Chantenay type in summer to harvest after soil temperatures have cooled in the fall.

To grow great carrots you’ll need great soil. The best soil for carrots has fine particles with a porous, loamy texture. To cultivate your carrot bed, remove any rocks and sticky clods of dirt. (In order to safeguard the soil’s structure, always do this when the soil is dry.)

Carrots need a nice balance of nutrients, yet when you give them too much nitrogen — particularly not-quite-decomposed manure — the roots are more likely to fork, crack or grow too slowly. Ideally, you should prepare your carrot bed in the fall by mixing in plenty of your best compost, along with some lime if you need to lower your soil’s acidity to the near-neutral range. Another way to prepare your carrot bed is to lace it with earthworm castings. Numerous backyard experiments have demonstrated dramatic improvements in carrot growth when the soil contains 10 percent to 20 percent worm castings. Compost from heaps heavily populated by earthworms is ideal, or you can purchase worm castings in products labeled as vermicompost.

SUCCESSFUL SOWING

Carrot seeds have a well-deserved reputation for being slow sprouters. Compared to other vegetable seeds, the embryos within carrot seeds are quite tiny. Before a carrot seed can sprout, it must soak up water so the embryo can grow. Chemicals in the seed coat delay germination, giving the embryo adequate time for growth, and even under perfect conditions (soil temperatures from 60 to 70 degrees and constant light moisture), carrot seeds seldom sprout in less than seven days. Don’t rush to plant carrots too early in spring, because exposure to temperatures below 50 degrees slows germination and increases the likelihood that the plants will develop a flower stalk. Once this happens, the root rapidly becomes tough and woody.

Many weeds germinate faster than carrots. In order to prevent weeds from taking over the carrot bed, some gardeners cover carrot seeds with weed-free potting soil rather than garden soil. Additionally, potting soil will not form a dry crust over the germinating seeds. Another trick that’s especially useful in spring is to stud the carrot row with radishes, which sprout quickly and help shade the soil over germinating carrot seeds.

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