Baby Carrots

Carrots are brilliant sweet staple vegetable to grow, and baby carrots are particularly versatile. They are easy to grow, cheap to sow so will save you dough! In December, get your carrots on baby!

The most cost effective way to grow vegetables is growing from seed. Seeds are cheap as chips and you can grow a heck of a lot of seedlings from a bag of seeds. Better still, the leftover seedlings you do not need, you can put into plastic pots, with a huge bow, and pass them onto friends and family for cheap and practical Christmas presents! Perfect.

To grow from seed, layer a suitable container (used seedling 6-packs are great) with a rich soil. Leave a 3cm gap from the top of the container and the soil. Sprinkle your carrots lightly over the soil, and then cover the seeds in a light 2cm layer of soil. Moisten, and leave in a sunny position for the seedlings to grow. This should take 2-3 weeks, and regular checking and watering is necessary. When the seedlings are growing, you may end up with a bunch in one small area. To reduce overcrowding pull a few seedlings out, as you don’t need them all. They should be spaced 2-3 inches apart. 

When the seedlings are 2 inches high, or if you are growing from bought seedlings, you will need to find a suitable place in your garden or garden box to enable rows of carrots to be planted. Space the seedlings around 2-4cm apart. Keep the soil well-watered, BUT make sure to let the soil dry in between watering. 

Carrot aphids may affect your crop, so read last week’s tips on natural sprays to prevent these pests destroying your crops. Carrots will take around 8 weeks to fully mature, but are edible as soon as they reach an acceptable size.

By Holly Jean Brooker

For green Christmas gift ideas and help with gardening, check out www.urbanmac.co.nz