Carrot

Daucus carota

Carrots need loose soil with no stones. Stones, clods and fresh manure make the roots fork into several legs. Sow the seed thinly, right where the carrots will grow. The seedlings are small and slow at first, so keep the row free of weeds.

Looking after it

Water: Carrots cope with dry spells and seldom need watering. In a long drought, give them a good soaking every two weeks. Steady moisture matters more than lots of it. A heavy watering after a dry spell splits the roots. Feeding: Carrots need no feeding. Don't dig in fresh manure or compost just before sowing, because it makes the roots fork. Use ground that was manured for an earlier crop instead.

Harvest and keeping

Pull carrots as soon as they are big enough to use. Loosen the soil with a fork first so they don't snap. Very large roots lose their flavour. When you thin the row, pulling out spare seedlings, touch the leaves as little as you can. Their smell draws carrot fly. Cut the leaves back to about 1 cm. In a bag with holes in the fridge they keep 2 to 4 months. They keep as long in a box of moist sand somewhere cool. Maincrop carrots can also stay in the ground under straw until you need them.

What can go wrong

Carrot fly. Small maggots leave rusty-brown tunnels in the roots. Cover the whole crop with fine insect mesh from the day you sow.
Forked roots. In stony, lumpy or freshly manured soil, the roots split into several legs. Dig the bed over well and take out the stones. Or grow short, round varieties.
Split roots. Cracks run along the roots when heavy rain or watering follows a dry spell. In long dry spells, water deeply and regularly.

Growing facts: RHS, UC ANR and seed-company sowing guides. Carrot care: RHS. How many to grow: Kansas State and University of Missouri extension. pH: University of Connecticut and University of Maryland extension. Pot size: University of Illinois extension. Keeping: University of Missouri extension.