Getting to the Root: Growing & Harvesting Carrots

harvesting carrots

Curious about carrots? There is no better time than now to get to growing. Before you get started, check out these insights on growing & harvesting carrots from gardening expert Will Bonsall.

The following is an excerpt from Will Bonsall’s Essential Guide to Radical, Self-Reliant Gardening by Will Bonsall. It has been adapted for the web.


Growing Carrots: The Basics

From the beginning I have always found it easy to grow a decent crop of carrots. However “decent” isn’t what you should be aiming for, but rather something more superlative.

For example, if you want mostly large, well-formed carrots, the soil should be deeply dug and free from stones, because stones in the soil cause forked and twisted roots. Seedlings should be thinned to about 2 inches (5.1 cm) apart when less than 3 inches (7.6 cm) tall. Thinning later than that will be less effective and may disturb the remaining plants.

I try to keep the newly seeded bed well watered at least until the seed has germinated and usually for a week or two after. With earlier plantings nature usually takes care of that, but I often plant as late as summer solstice, when the soil may be too hot and dry for prompt and consistent germination without supplemental watering. Drought in the early stage can set back carrots badly. High humus levels help assure ample and consistent soil moisture.

Adding Fertilizer

Other than that the only fertilizer I add is some wood ash (perhaps 2 to 3 gallons, or 7.6–11.4 l, per bed). Much nitrogen should not be needed and in fact may be counterproductive. Nitrogen acts like a growth hormone, and while carrots in very rich soil may grow large quickly, they will often have poorer health, poorer flavour, and poorer storability than those carrots provided with proportionately more of the alkaline minerals (especially potassium).

You see, adequate potassium is needed for cell wall turgour; without it tissues become flaccid and weak and prone to invasion by most everything. Alkaline minerals are also linked to the formation and storage of sugars. Therefore carrots with ample minerals are sweeter, crisper, more disease-resistant, and longer keeping. Carrots grown with excess nitrogen tend to be resinous-tasting (due to terpenes) and quick to shrink in storage.

Getting to the Root of It

The part of the carrot we eat is not the whole tap-root; the little threadlike root that extends beyond the enlarged root is vital. It reaches for water that’s way beyond the storage part. This delicate root is easily damaged by burrowing insects or rodents, and when it is broken the plant loses its sense of direction: Without that radical dominance the root grows in every direction, producing the often banal-looking forms you see at fair exhibitions.

The plant may produce just as much root, but it’s more difficult to wash and use. That is why taproot plants like carrots, parsnips, beets, and turnips are so notoriously difficult to transplant: Even if the seedlings survive, the resulting roots will usually be deformed beyond use.

Storing & Harvesting Carrots

harvesting carrotsIn recent years there seems to have been an emphasis on breeding early forcing varieties for the fresh market and for novelty varieties of diverse colours. From my limited experience most of those latter are mediocre in taste and very poor for keeping.

These are new only to the US market; they have been common in places like Cyprus, Syria, and Pakistan for centuries. The French and Dutch have done a great deal to advance the carrot to its modern splendour; I see no point in moving backward. My own priority is storage quality, and Scarlet Nantes fills that need to my satisfaction.

When to Harvest Carrots

I don’t harvest carrots until mid-October, partly because they make some of their finest, sweetest growth in those late weeks, but also partly because I store them, like my beets and rutabagas, in barrels of new-fallen maple leaves.

Probably any leaves would suffice, but maples are crisp and clean like crumpled paper and they make a nice cushion without imparting any flavour. Also, by then the root cellar has begun to cool down for better dormancy.

Carrot Storage Considerations

Speaking of carrots it has intrigued me how vulnerable to freezing they are in the garden compared with the gone-wild carrot, Queen Anne’s lace, in the neighbouring hay fields.

I wonder to what extent the latter is protected by the sod and how much is merely the resilience of wildness. Carrot deteriorates, or reverts, very quickly out of cultivation, which may demonstrate the superficiality of some of our domestication.


Recommended Reads

Ginger Carrots for a Healthy Gut

Drop the Beet: Growing No-Till Beets

Read The Book

Will Bonsall's Essential Guide to Radical, Self-Reliant Gardening

Innovative Techniques for Growing Vegetables, Grains, and Perennial Food Crops with Minimal Fossil Fuel and Animal Inputs

$39.95

Enter your email to sign up for our newsletter and save 25% on your next order

Recent Articles

worms in soil

Soil Is Alive: What Lives In Our Soil?

Ever wonder what worms and centipedes are doing as they crawl through your soil? They’re actually working to improve the soil’s health, which benefits the environment and all living things in the long run. The following is an excerpt from Farming on the Wild Side by Nancy J. Hayden and John P. Hayden. It has been adapted…

Read More
mushrooms

Growing Shiitake Mushrooms in a Garage or Yard

Learn how to grow shiitake mushrooms in almost any environment, including your yard and even your garage!

Read More
extend the growing season

How to Extend the Growing Season

Winter may be coming, but that doesn’t mean you should put away those tools just yet! Extend the growing season past the first frost with a few modifications.

Read More
arugula

The Endless Arugula Bed

What if we told you that there was a way to extend your growing season and save time & money? The answer is all in arugula. With quick hoops and greenhouse film, you’ll be on your way to harvesting sweet & flavorful arugula in no time.  The following excerpt is from The Resilient Farm and…

Read More
kale

All About Kale: The Evolution of This Popular Green

Once considered an undesirable vegetable mainly fed to cattle, kale has evolved over the years to become a powerful superfood!

Read More