Carrots are also a rewarding and productive type of vegetable in your own garden for those who are new to growing their own vegetables. They are sown directly in the field and grow to a harvestable size within around three months.

Prepare the soil for carrot cultivation

The composition of the soil plays a very important role when growing carrots in raised or vegetable beds. Fresh stable manure should be worked in as fertilizer no later than autumn before sowing in order to obtain a loose and humus-rich soil. Fresh manure directly before sowing damages the plants and would also encourage infestation with carrot flies. Pay attention to the following when growing carrots:

  • a loose and humus-rich soil
  • a sunny and warm location
  • the annual rotation of crops with other types of vegetables

Old wild forms newly bred

With carrots, too, there is now a trend away from cultivated varieties in order to give priority to the strong aroma of old varieties. An example of this is the so-called Duwick carrot, which was increasingly cultivated around 200 years ago. With a length of about 5 - 9 centimeters, it is thick and tapering. Due to its high sugar content, it not only tastes very sweet, but in contrast to other varieties, it can also partially overwinter in the ground under straw.

Carrots for humans and animals

As a root vegetable, carrots are a very low-calorie vegetable with lots of vitamins and carotene. Eating raw and cooked carrots is not only very healthy for humans, you can also feed carrots to your dog without hesitation. Such an unhealthy dog snack can often be replaced with a crunchy treat from your own vegetable patch.

carrots for fresh consumption

Carrots taste really delicious and crunchy when they have just been harvested fresh from the ground. In particular, varieties such as the small and spherical Pariser Markt carrots are less suitable for storage and should be eaten raw or cooked immediately. If the carrots in your vegetable patch have grown too densely, you can also pull out individual young carrots so that there is an optimal distance of at least five centimeters between the carrots.

Storage for the winter

Carrot varieties with very long main roots, such as the Nantaise variety, are primarily suitable for storage in the cellar. They must be dug up before the first frost and stored in a dry sandbox in a cool basement. For your pets with incisors, you can also slice carrots and then let them air dry.

tips and tricks

If you plan the sowing of carrots in your garden cleverly, you can consistently harvest fresh carrots directly from the bed from around May to November. To do this, sow the individual rows at intervals of four weeks starting in March.

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Category:

Vegetable garden