Carrot Plants

Tips for growing carrots: Carrots love sandy soil. Add well-rotted manure to improve soil texture and increase nutrients.

Have you ever seen a carrot that has grown “legs” or forked itself into a strikingly human form? Fresh manure, or even recently applied rotted manure, can cause carrots to fork and send out little side roots. Don’t use it before you plant your seeds.

Thin overcrowded seedlings by snipping them with scissors, instead of pulling them out, to prevent damage to the roots of remaining plants.

To store freshly harvested carrots, twist off the tops, scrub off the dirt under cold running water (use a vegetable brush, if necessary), let them drain for a few minutes in a large colander, seal them in airtight plastic bags, and refrigerate. If you simply put fresh carrots in the refrigerator, they’ll go limp in a few hours.

Carrots taste much better after a couple of frosts. Following the first hard frost in the fall, cover carrot rows with an 18-inch layer of shredded leaves to preserve them for harvesting after frost.