If you want to grow vegetables in your garden, then carrots can be the best and easiest choice. It is very easy to grow carrots at home, but it is important to know everything about carrot growth stages.
Carrot plants grow in two seasons, in the first season, it grows its leaves, and in the second, it produces flowers, seeds and then dies.
Carrots are available in varieties, but it is not possible to grow every variety at home. There are only a few varieties that can be grown at home.
This post covers all the information you might need to grow carrots at your home.
Varieties of carrots
There are many varieties of carrots, but not all varieties can be grown at home. Below is the list of carrots that you can easily grow in your own small garden.
- Deep purple hybrid
- Imperator 58
- Kaleidoscope
- Little finger
- Lunar white
- Parisian heirloom
- Purple dragon
- Red
- Short and sweet
- Tendersweet
- Thumbelina
- Touchon
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When to plant carrot seeds
- If you want to grow the carrot plant in summer, then sow the seeds in the garden 3-4 weeks before the spring comes.
- If you want to harvest carrots in winter, then sow the seeds ten weeks before autumn.
Basic requirements for growing carrot
Carrots need a variety of conditions to thrive properly, but there are a few requirements of carrot plants that are necessary for their proper growth, they are:
Soil
Carrot plants need drained soil, which is free from rocks, and large clumps, to thrive. So, if you want to grow carrots in your garden, make sure that the soil is like clay and free from dirt.
Also, if the soil is highly watery, then you can mix dried soil in the drained soil.
Nutrition
Add a high amount of compost to the soil because the carrot plant needs a nitrogen-rich diet. For better growth of carrots, it is important to check that the soil does not get deformed or ruptured.
Also, it is necessary to have good quality fertilizers for the better growth of carrots.
Sunlight
Carrot plants need direct sunlight to survive.
For better growth, make sure that the plant gets at least 8 hours of sunlight.
Containers
Containers can provide a high amount of moisture to the carrot for growth. It is of great importance to choose a good container for your plant.
Unfinished terracotta and clay pots can be the best choice of containers because they allow the soil to breathe.
The container should be a few inches deeper than the expected length of the carrot.
How to grow carrots
Carrots are grown in two seasons, the process for each one is as follows:
Season 1
The first season of carrot growth or carrot life cycle focuses on growing the tops and developing the tubers.
Planting
Carrot is a vegetable that needs cooler weather for germination. The seeds of the carrot plant can sow in early spring or later in fall.
Spring: sow the carrot seeds 3-4 weeks before the spring comes.
Fall: wait till mid-summer to sow, approximately ten weeks before autumn.
After sowing the seeds, the plant takes 2-3 weeks to germinate. The sprouting of carrot plants is done late as compared to other plants because of the cold temperature of the soil. Once the sowing is done, make sure that the soil gets moisture from time to time.
Moisture softens the coat of seeds, and this process is known as “imbibition.”
Germination
After planting, the next step of the carrot plant is germination. Roots of carrot plants anchor the soil and radicle the roots to absorb soil, moisture, and nutrients.
After absorbing the carrot, the plant releases natural gravitational forces to determine the way for carrot growth.
Taproot and leaf-forms
During the second stage, the process of growing a carrot plant becomes slow, and the plant starts a metabolic process.
A large root that forms first known as the taproot, and the secondary roots develop after the first root grows. The taproot stores food for the carrot plant.
After the taproot grows, the photosynthesis process takes place, and the other leaves also start producing their own food.
Harvesting
After 75-80 days, the carrot growth stages or carrot life cycle completes, and it becomes ready to harvest.
In some cases, after 80 days, carrots are not in the picking stage.
In this case, wait for the season and then pick the carrots.
Season 2
As mentioned earlier, some carrots do not grow properly in the 1st season, and thus they grow to their full size in the second season. Many people do not wait for the second season, they just start picking the carrots in the first season only, but it’s important to remember that those carrots are not good to use as they can create many types of health issues.
So, if your carrots did not thrive in the first season, then wait for the second season.
In the second season, the carrot growth stages and carrot life cycle include:
Flowering
When the spring season begins, the hormones of carrot start to trigger the cells to start elongating. Same as the germination started in the first season again, the roots involve the germination process, and after some time, the leaves start turning into flowers.
Formation of seeds
After Flowering, the center of the flower starts producing seeds, making the tubers woody and fibrous.
This is the whole carrots growth stage. If your carrot plant does not grow in both seasons, then you should throw the carrot away from the other plant because it can also affect the growth of the other plant.
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Final words
If you love to eat fresh vegetables, especially carrots, then it is better to grow them at home. After all, what can be better than the fresh vegetables grown in your own personal space?
As this post has solved all your doubts, then what are you waiting for? If you like the article about carrot growth stages, then hit the like button and share the pictures of carrots from your own mini garden in the comment section below.
